Good Food, Good Swims and Padovian Hospitality

We needed to check out of our rooms at 10:00, but our train was not set to leave until 10:45. The timing here gave us something very unusual, almost unheard of on this trip. Free time. That ever elusive thing, free time is a close cousin of sleeping in, which is also rare on our European adventures. But as we did not want to hike again, and the stores were not yet open, there was not much for us to do in the morning.

We planned to sleep in a bit and have a slower start. Meeting around 9 we bought some sweet rolls at a local bakery and cappuccinos near the harbor. We found a bench in the harbor and looked at the ocean while we finished our breakfast. We took a quick trip back through town and bought some food at the local Coop grocery store. With a 6 hour train ride ahead of us we did not want to go without food on the train. After that, with a few moments until our train departed, we took a short walk through the upper end of town.

One of the things Michelle has noticed on this trip is the friendliness of all of the people we encountered. We try to live as locals whenever we travel, and that includes learning basic phrases in the local language and trying local foods. But in this trip, these small things have yielded some wonderfully tender moments. Like the older woman walking into town as we were walking out of town with her wildflowers in hand. As we passed and said good morning in Italian she smiled and said an effusive good morning back to us. Joyous connections like this just warm a travelers soul.

With the train quickly approaching we grabbed our bags and headed towards the train station. We were all hoping that the train rides on our way out of town would be better than the train rides into Vernazza! We did have 4 changes that we needed to make, but with Tim's planning we knew when each would arrive, when each would leave and what platforms we needed to move to in order to catch each leg. If we made all of the trains we would be in Padova by 4:00 and meeting up with Nicola, a friend of Tim and Michelle's.

Thankfully the train rides were largely uneventful and we made each connection easily. There was one leg where we stopped on the tracks due to an "electrical failure". Which induced a moment of slight panic as who knows what the failure was for and how long it would take to fix. Thankfully the delay was only about 10 minutes, and we had a 30 minute buffer at that station.

When we arrived in Padova Nicola was there to meet us and took us on a grand tour of the city center. We commented to Nicola that it was warmer than we were anticipating, to which he informed us that the entire country was under a heat wave during the week we were there. Which made sense, because we were envisioning 70 degree weather based on historical averages, but were experiencing mid to high 80s each day.

The first part of the tour started at the Abbey of Santa Giustina, which is one of the biggest churches in Italy. As we were not planning to enter a church we were wearing our traveling clothes. That meant that Christyn was not wearing appropriate clothing. Thankfully the church provided cover ups. She wrapped one around her waist, looking quite stylish mind you, and rolled along through the church.

We learned that the church is the resting place of the apostle Luke. Here, in this church rested some of the remains of a man who walked with Jesus. Take that one in for a moment. It's a heavy thought.

The church also sits in front of the second biggest square in the world. While we were there a carnival was in town, so the space was full of rides, cotton candy and lots of kids. :) There was an interesting juxtaposition between the interior significance of the church to the exterior activities on the square.

The heat of the day was getting to us already, so a stop was made for a quick gelato. The shop had  banana gelato, and we all seemed to end up with the flavor as one of our scoops. Nicola informed us that banana is not a traditional gelato flavor, but it was tasty nonetheless.

The tour continued down the Main Street, which was recently closed to pedestrians. The only people allowed to drive on the roads are those who live on the street, and they had to drive very slowly as the street can be congested by shoppers, especially on the weekend.

We also saw the fruit and vegetable market, the astrological clock in one of the city squares, and the University of Padova. The University of Padova was the first university in Italy. Nicola and his wife Arielle (the friends we would spend the next two days with) met at the University, so the buildings we saw were special places for them.

For our final stop we entered the Saint Antonio church. It was a delight, for the look of the church as well as the people in it. On prior trips when we have attended mass we have lamented on the lack of worshippers there. In this service it was nearly packed, and not with tourists trying to find a place to simply rest their feet. This church also housed a number of holy relics and had a brochure with a self guided tour to help you understand it all. 

While on the tour Nicola received a call from Ariella asking where we were. Apparently Nicola had said he was giving us a quick tour, but it was taking longer than planned and she had prepared dinner for us. Two years ago Tim and Michelle were with their friends the Smith's in Venice and had been invited for dinner at Nicola and Ariella's house. It was the most amazing meal with multiple courses. We put some pep in our step and hustled back to the car.

At the house we were introduced to Ambrey and Carlos Alberto, Nicola and Ariella's two children. They were learning English as a second language in their school, but were a bit shy in talking to us. They could, however, understand most of what we were saying. Since Susanne and Christyn know sign language, it was helpful to use signs to explain various concepts and ideas.

Ariella took us on a tour of the house, which had a huge remodel over the last few years. Almost every inch of the house had been renovated. The kitchen was also moved to a different area on the main floor and a pool was added in the back yard. The renovations were all so beautiful. One of our favorites was a metal bookshelf with a latch hidden inside a book, which allowed the bookshelf to pivot on the wall and revealed stairs down to the laundry room, basement and sauna room. It was unexpected and ingenious.

The pool was a feature we used quickly, as we were told there was enough time before dinner to take a quick swim. Nicola had instructed us to bring our swimsuits, and after a hot day and a long walk the cool water felt refreshing. The kids were already in the pool, and before long we were all engaged in a serious game of "keep away". Carlos Alberto was the funniest as he would always pass to his sister and when he was in the middle he would ride on Nicolas shoulders in order to have a higher reach. The sun was going down and it was soon time to clean up and get ready for dinner.

Tim and Michelle were in the downstairs room behind the hidden bookcase entrance. Susanne and Christyn were in an upstairs bedroom. The bathrooms in the house were all remodeled with the coolest showers. The shower head was square and dropped from the ceiling versus a wall. The walls were covered in a stack stone material on two sides and a glass panel on another side. Then in the place you would expect to see a door there was none. It was completely open to the room. The floor was a solid piece of stone with drainage holes cut out in a square shape. The whole floor slanted slightly towards the drain hole so that no water escaped from the open side. It was amazing. Michelle told Tim that he should have moved forward with a bathroom remodel at our house before this trip because now she has lots of new and expensive ideas. :)

Once we all freshened up we were happy to see that Nicola's aunt Christine and uncle Daniello had arrived for dinner. Tim and Michelle were excited as on an earlier trip to Venice Nicola and Ariella hosted Tim, Michelle and their friends the Smiths for dinner. At that dinner Christine and Daniello also came, and it was a delightful meal and conversation, made all the more interesting as neither Christine nor Daniello spoke much English. Tim and Michelle were very much looking forward to reconnecting.

Daniello quickly asked what kind of gelato we wanted for dessert. To which we responded banana! You should have seen Daniello's face. He quickly scrunched it up and said "banana? Bagh!" He and Carlos Alberto left quickly after that to go grab the dessert.

Christine and Ariella are both excellent cooks, so we were all in for a treat. We started with the first course, which consisted of two different kinds of pasta, a bow tie pasta with tomatoes, olives and mozzarella cheese and a trofoili pasta with pesto sauce on it. Both were delicious and could have been full meals in and of themselves. We all went back for seconds.

The second course was a green salad with an olive oil/salt/pepper dressing and sliced roast beef with au jus sauce. Both were delicious. Most of us went back for seconds.

Finally was dessert, the infamous gelato. Ariella also brought out some sliced strawberries and banana. And to everyone's surprise, one of the flavors of gelato that Daniello purchased was banana. :)

Wonderful conversation ensued and we all stayed up way too late. The Hardley's were surprised to see that Daniello and Christine had been practicing their English in the years since our last visit. With the help of our trusty Google Translate app we were able to navigate conversations quite easily. There are some benefits to modern technology.

Tomorrow we are set to travel for one quick day in Venice then dinner again with Nicola and Ariella before we are off to Switzerland the following day. Ciao!

Personal Safety Update

Just a small update in light of the recent events in London and Paris. We are all safe and secure. We are now in Switzerland (the blog posts are about 2 days behind) and plan to be here until Friday. On Friday we head to Munich to stay with friends through Monday. If there are future events we will update this page with additional information on our well being.

Blessings to you all.

Th Magic of the Cinque Terre Strikes Again

Sleep was just a few hours until Tim and Susanne were up and out again (6:15 AM!) Christyn and Michelle had requested time to sleep in. We took the opportunity to hike a bit of the trail to Monterosa al Mare...since it was early, the ticket booth was still closed allowing us to push past it a bit further than would have been possible had it been later in the day. The hike from the "village" is a steep staircase of rocky, uneven steps. The views quickly unfold before you at each turn...and Susanne had to stop at each turn to attempt to capture them. The pictures will not due the reality justice as this is such a beautiful area. As we climb, the houses grew further apart and the greenery of the terraced gardens surrounded us. We still had sweeping views of the Mediterranean Sea as well. We stopped at a great lookout, going further would have hidden the village as the trail bent around the natural curvature of the hills ahead of us. At this spot we had amazing views of the village, the harbor and the sea...just not a big enough lens to capture it all. We enjoyed a few minutes rest, still glistening in sweat from the hike up, to ponder the beauty before us. Alas, we had to head down to make it past the ticket booth before we were caught on the wrong side without a ticket.

We strolled into Vernazza with an eye towards breakfast. We stopped at a pasticeria to pick up some sweet rolls, apricot croissants and a quick cappuccino (this place only had coffee to go). We strolled down to the benches at the harbor enjoying the coffee and a "danish" with views of the fishing boats bobbing up and down. A hike up to the apartment to check on Michelle and Christyn revealed that they were still sleeping. We left the rolls on the kitchen table and headed out for another hike. This time we headed inland, under the train platform and into the hills along the main -err, only road. The stream flanked us on one side with houses clinging to the steep walls of the valley and sometimes built into the rocky outcropping. The sounds of the occasional waterfalls created a wonderful ambiance broken by the random car traveling along the narrow road. We passed the old rusty water wheel built into the house, and a "Nona" on her way to town carrying a bouquet of flowers. The pace of life is slower and relaxed. We reach a "Y" in the road and stopped to take some pictures and pick a couple of cherries from the nearby tree. We then turned around and headed home.

Upon arrival back at the apartment we found Christyn and Michelle just getting up. The decision was quickly made to stay for an extra day in Vernazza. The only problem was, we were again faced with the issue of not having a room. We went back to the travel agency we contacted yesterday, and she informed us that her last room was booked the day before. We needed to check out by 10:00am, so we took our packs to the little store that found us our apartment for the evening and asked if they knew of any places for four people for one more ni ght. Francesca said the knew of no apartments, but that they had a room for two people and they would call their contacts to see if another room could be secured for two more people. Within 5 minutes there was an older Italian man who spoke no English at the doorstep ready to take two of our group to the new room. The second room would not be available until later in the day, but we could leave the bags for that room in the store until it was available.

Susanne, Christyn and Michelle headed to the available room. The man brought us to a woman named Maria who spoke very little English but very rapid Italian. She explained to us the rules of the room, and there were a fair number of signs translated into English and German to help. She would point to a sign, we would read, then she would explain in rapid fire Italian. Thankfully for us, she also used plenty of hand gestures and sounds so that we could follow along. She explained all about the cats in the neighborhood that could get into the room and how to prevent it, we learned that the gals should not go to bed with wet hair on the pillows, and a bath mat should be put on the floor after a shower. Also, when we left the room we should turn off all of the lights and leave a water bottle in the doorway as a signal so that she knew it was ok to come in and freshen up the room. She was a delightful older woman who didn't seem to mind at all that we only understood a portion of what she said. Her house was also right above the room she was renting and she let us know to shout "Maria, Maria" if we needed anything and she would come running.

Maria's house was on the trail between Vernazza and Monterossa al Mare. We decided to head up to the checkpoint on the side behind Maria's house to see what kinds of views we could get without buying a ticket for the whole trail. We easily decided the night before that even if we stayed in Vernazza one more night we would not do the full hike between either of the two towns. There were too many people on the trails, and the weather was hovering around 85 degrees Having done the full hike in 2009, Tim and Michelle knew that shade was scarce and the hike would be just miserable. We opted to use the day to explore and relax. We did not get too far up the trail before we encountered the ticket booth, so we had only partial views of the harbor and city. Nonetheless, the views were still quite beautiful.

We headed back into town to cross to the other side of the trail, this time headed in the direction of Cornelia. The beginning of this hike takes you high into the houses on the hill of the city. A beautiful trip, and fun to see so many tiny lanes and homes all stacked on top of and next to each other. On the trail there is a restaurant that overlooked the ocean and had signs for appetizers and drinks. Curious, we went inside to look at a menu. The prices seemed reasonable and the view could not be beat, so we opted to end our short hike on the Cornelia trail at the restaurant to take advantage of the views and the shade.

The restaurant had 4 different kinds of bruschetta, so we tried three with a bottle of wine. Christyn found milkshakes on the menu and decided to try a melon flavored one. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, with the blue expanse of the Mediterranean Sea in front of you and the beautiful stack stone of the rocks behind you. So much so that we made a reservation for the same table for dinner at 7:30. Seeing as that the next day would be full of trains, we thought it best to start dinner early.

Tim and Michelle left lunch early to go grab their bags and check into their new room. On the way they opted to stop off at the castle tower in town. The 1.50 euro entrance is well worth the views. The tower is on the highest point in town perched on the edge of the rock cliffs overlooking the ocean. There are sweeping views all around. Looking to the south you can see Cornelia in the distance and to the north the largest village in the Cinque Terre, Monterossa, is visible. It was our first time to the top of the tower, always nice to add a new experience to a familiar spot. On our way down the tower, we passed Susanne and Christyn as they headed up.

We reached Francesca's store and she walked us up to the room, leaving Franco to mind the store. The new room was slightly higher than the last apartment, and she explained as we entered the common entrance that her house was to right, our door to the room was on the left. The room was quaint with bed, small refrigerator and in the bathroom a beautifully blue tiled shower. The window opened up to peek-a-boo views of the sea. A quick change into out swimsuits and we were off to meet the Jacksons at the same spot we swam the day before.

The beach was much busier, as it was earlier in the day. We dropped our towels and shoes and headed in the water. The saltiness of the sea makes swimming and floating very easy, you only need to be aware of the boats coming and going. We decided to swim out past a large rock outcrop beyond the crowd. A small cove protected us from the waves on the other side but everything was rock. There was no easy way to sit and relax. The water being so clear we could look down and see the rock formations and sea life below. We opted to try our luck at the open water, so we climbed over the small rock barrier and carefully slid into the water timing our drop to coincide with the waves. The water was choppy, but not bad once we swam away from the rocks, we gently swayed up and down. If we stopped swimming the natural current was pushing us into the harbor and the buoyancy would nearly keep your head above water. We swam into the harbor, as Michelle and Christyn got our and dried off, Susanne wanted to "touch the sand" so Susanne and Tim swam further in to the small beach area. As Susanne's feet touched sandy floor she was happy, and since we did that thirty feet off shore it made Tim happy that we wouldn't have to fight the beach crowd to touch dry sand. Back at shore we parted ways to our respective rooms to shower and dress for dinner. On the way to dinner Michelle opted to go back to one of the shops they visited earlier in the day and purchase a new pair of pants. The legs are so full that when she is standing it looks like she is wearing a very long skirt. She had seen a few people on the trip wearing them so far and thought they would be a fun memory/souvenir of the trip.

Arriving early with the sun still well above the horizon, we started with a round of cocktails and pesto bruschetta. The sun slowly lowered towards the sea making the surrounding landscape jump out further. Michelle ordered lasagna with meat sauce and Susanne and Christyn ordered the lasagna with pesto. Tim had a pasta dish with a mixture of shrimp and mussels. We complimented dinner with a  bottle of the Cinque Terre wine and stayed late into the night. The hike down from the restaurant revealed the romance of the Cinque Terre as the glow of the lights of the town reflect off the aged buildings. The small alleyways and stairs create a picturesque setting to stroll around the quiet town. Another amazing day lost and found in the magic of the Cinque Terre.

Check out time is 10:00 and our train to Padova was leaving at 10:45. We all turned in early anticipating a long training day ahead of us. We could only hope that it did not involve the same kind of excitement we experienced on our way out to the Cinque Terre.

The Hills are Alive with Sounds of Relaxation

This morning saw us up and at em early in the morning to catch a train on our way to the Cinque Terre. We planned to make a stop along the way in Pisa so that Susanne and Christyn could see the leaning tower there. So that they could move faster, and to save Michelle's legs, the plan was to drop her and the bags at a safe place with wifi so that she could work on booking the next hotel room. After the leaning tower we would then go to Vernazza to the rooms, drop our bags and then hike one of the open trails.

We got into Pisa around 9:30am and had Michelle settled by 10. Most major cities now have had free wifi in the public squares, so when we saw the wifi signs we chose a spot that showed a strong signal. Then Tim, Susanne and Christyn hit the road. Unfortunately, Pisa's free wifi is free, but they want you to sign in with information about yourself, including your mobile phone number. They will then send you a text with a code to use to log into the free wifi. The only problem is that in order for Michelle to get the text, she needs to be on a wifi connection. So she was stuck with nothing to do for about an hour, being caught in a frustrating catch-22.

She did attempt to ask a number of people for help. Those most willing to help didn't have mobile phones of their own, and those with mobile phones seemed to be having a bad day. She did have an absolutely lovely conversation with an older Italian couple who spoke no English. Using her 20 year old French skills, a bit of hand gesturing and a Google translate app, Michelle and the woman painstakingly conversed for about 20 minutes. She was delightful, and Michelle learned all about the woman's son, who she was visiting in Pisa, and her three grandsons. The woman seemed flustered that Michelle was left alone and wondered why she needed so many bags just for herself. The woman was very happy to hear that Michelle was traveling with a group of others. :)

Meanwhile, Tim, Susanne and Christyn made their way quickly to the tower. It was quite a hike through town, even without their packs. And with the heat of the day in full effect, it was a hot journey. Once there they spent some time enjoying the sheet engineering of the place. It looks as if the tower will topple at any moment! The obligatory photos were taken, especially the ones where it looks like the person is holding up the tower. On the way back to Michelle there was a quick stop for gelato, and they made sure to bring one back for her. :)

Once reunited Michelle broke the unhappy news that she was not able to make any calls on hotels. So we were going into a small mountain village blind, with no hotel rooms. Sounds like an adventure, yes? We hopped on the first of two trains we needed to get to Vernazza and hoped for the best.

The first train was packed. And by packet we mean packed. There were no seats available, so we had to stand in the covered spaces between the cars. And though the covered spaces are safe, they are not air conditioned. Mind you, we have our full packs on right now, so we are each 20-30lbs heavier than normal, this train ride is about an hour and it is already about 80 degrees outside. This all makes us a prime target for pick pockets. And as we were soon to learn, there were two in the covered space with us working as a team, one at each of the two platform exit doors from the compartment.

Once everyone was in the covered space and the train was moving the train then made its first stop. People got on, people got off, all appeared normal. As the doors closed, an older man walked into the compartment and stood by the exit as if he was getting off at the next stop. Suddenly, a man's wallet appears on the floor. We get the older mans attention, thinking that he dropped his wallet on accident. He turns around and says it isn't his. A man at one of the platform exit doors says it belongs to a man that just got off. This all sounds fishy that it would just appear on the floor, as we had left that train station over a minute ago. So the wallet just hung in the air out of the departing man's pocket for over a minute and dropped to the ground well after he was gone? Instantly we knew that at least one of the three locals in the compartment was a thief. The thief had taken the wallet from the man as he got off of the train, then pocketed whatever cash was there and used the presence of the older man as a distraction to throw the wallet on the floor. So we were fairly certain that at least one of the men by the two exit doors was the one who stole the wallet.

The woman picked up the wallet and seemed concerned, opened it and confirmed it was from a tourist. She put it in her pocket and indicated that she would give it to the local police when we got off of the train. Which also seemed suspicious, but perhaps this is what happens In these situations. We were on high alert though for the other two men to make sure they did not try to steal anything from us. We all breathed a sigh of relief when they exited the train.
   
We continued on in the hot compartment, not wanting to go into the Air Conditioned space as there was not enough room for the 4 of us to sit together. With this recent experience it seemed better to stay together than to split up and be more of a target. Finally we arrived in La Spezia and changed to another regional train. This one was bigger with more seats and fewer people. It was another moment to relax as we planned for our stay in Vernazza. We decided that Michelle and Susanne would stay with the bags and Tim and Christyn would walk around the town and ask at the local shops whether there were any rooms for rent for the night. In this small town there are few hotels but a number of private rooms and apartments that you can rent if you ask around or call ahead of time. They are run by locals, which also allows you to meet some interesting people. But there is also no guarantee that you will be able to find anything.

Finally free of the heavy packs, Christyn and Tim set off to find a restaurant named Gianni Franzi and a travel agency per the instructions of a young local woman working inside the small store in the train station. The restaurant wasn't too difficult to find in the lovely little town, but inside it was packed with both tourists and locals crowded against the bar trying to order a cappuccino. When we were able to get her attention, she unfortunately shared that she had no available rooms. Beginning to worry, we rushed back to the travel agency we had passed. The kind lady working there did not know of any available rooms and neither did any of her contacts. She did inform us that this was a particularly busy time for all of the Cinque Terre due to a holiday weekend for Italy on top of the beginning of summer trips and the usual tourist season. She recommended traveling to farther cities that did not have agencies we could call ahead to talk to, or possibly traveling outside of the Cinque Terre. Not being comfortable with extra train rides and travel based solely on a "maybe," we decided to go around to various businesses to ask for rooms. We entered the little store directly across the street that sold local food items from the region for tourists. There was a little sign in the window that said rooms available. We talked to the store owner Francesca. Lucky for us they had a 2 room apartment available for one night and we didn't have to explore additional cities in search of a place to stay. She called her husband Franco to show us the room.

After about 30 minutes Christyn arrived back to share the happy news. Since we were not sure if we would stay one night or two, this was perfect. We dropped the bags at the apartment and prepared to head into town. Tim was falling asleep at the table in the apartment, so we opted to let him sleep for a few hours. The gals bought some take away food, brought some of it to Tim in the room in case he was hungry, and set off to see the town.

The town itself isn't very big, and you can walk the main road in about 5 minutes. We headed towards the water to get a better view of the harbor area. It was a hot day, so there were many children playing and swimming. One of them had a water polo ball, which made us think of the Jackson family. We decided that later we would need to go swimming.

We headed back up the main square and went into a few shops. In one of them Susanne and Michelle   bought items for some of the kids. We went back to the room to wake up Tim so that we could all go down to the beach to swim. The water was clear, but cold and before long Tim, Michelle and Susanne were all in. Since it was later in the day the swim didn't last long and we were back in the room to get ready for dinner. Christyn ended up falling asleep, and we opted to let her sleep instead of waking her up for dinner.

We were so used to having late dinners that when we stopped in at the harbor at 9:45pm we didn't even think about the time. We soon found that this might be an issue here, as the first restaurant we tried to stop in at said they were closed. The second one said they were open, but when we sat down it seemed like we were rushed though dinner. The waiter explained in 95% Italian that the kitchen was closing and he mentioned a train in the explanation as well. We were not quite sure what he was saying, but we tried to eat as fast as possible. It turns out, in one of the guidebooks they mentioned that a lot of the kitchen staff in the restaurants live in La Spezia, and the last train leaves at 10:00. The next train does not leave until 12:00. So the waiter was trying to explain that the kitchen was closing so that his staff could catch the train to go home. We wish we had known that before, and we were happy that we understood enough to eat as fast as possible!

After dinner Michelle went back to the room and also fell asleep. Susanne and Tim went out again and hiked around the city. The first stop was the castle, but we discovered the gate was closed to the top. We redirected out adventure to walking the labyrinth of pathways in the upper level. This took us to "Lovers Lookout," an opening overlooking the south side of the cliffs and since it was occupied we didn't stay long. We headed back down to the harbor and stood at the end of the point to visit a little longer. What a wonderful way to end the hustle of a travel day in the quietness and glow of Vernazza.

When In Rome . . .

Today was the first day in our trip where we planned to be in the same city for two nights in a row. Knowing that there was no rush to check out of our room and hop on another train we opted to sleep in a bit. Sleep has been a luxury in short supply so far. I think we are all averaging around 3-5 hours a night depending on the city. The idea of getting something close to a full eight hours sounded like heaven.

Breakfast was served at our little hotel from 7:45-9:30. We decided to meet in the breakfast room at 8:30. A typical European breakfast of meats (salami, prosciutto etc) with bread and cheese were served with some yogurt and coffees. The cappuccinos were also flowing if you wanted one made for you. It was a great way to start off the second day in Rome.

Once we were all assembled for the day we hit the road. On the way we grabbed some take away pizza from the local shop. We tried a 4 cheese pizza and one with cheese and mushrooms. Both were delicious and hit the spot as we walked to the closest metro station. It turns out, the closest one involved a walk down a very large hill. Which is fine, if you are walking down the hill, but we were not so excited about the long walk back up the hill. We made a mental note to shoot for a different metro stop that may have been a little further away on the map, but would be more agreeable when returning from a long day of hiking around the city and sightseeing.

We headed first to the Colosseum. This is where the Roma passes we bought the day before came in handy. For a small extra fee (plus unlimited use of the metro for 48 hours) we were able to jump in front of the line and walk right in. When you get into the center part of the Colosseum you quickly realize how big the building is, and how many layers there are all folded into one space. Thankful for the Rick Steve's audio guide we began the tour into history while orienteering by means of the iron cross erected as a memorial. Being it was a hot day we were thankful for the shade we could rest in and the fountains we could refill our water bottles at. While waiting in line we observed a little boy trying to drink as the water poured down from the spout above his head. This is not an easy task at any age and the crowd chuckled. We needed this moment as the history of the Colosseum is filled with woes of death and unfortunate plundering through the ages.

Once finished with the Colosseum we headed over to the Palentine Hill. Tim and Michelle had tried to visit this before, but in some way turned the wrong way and could never quite find it. This time they were determined to at least find it and see a little bit on the way to the Roman Forum. There was a new security checkpoint added to the front of the entrance that had not been there in prior years. This meant that there were now a number of people that we could ask for directions to the entrance. It turns out that there was a small side door that you could enter if coming from the direction we took that would allow you a path to access Palentine Hill. We thought we would take a few moments to look around and then head out, but quickly realized that the Palentine Hill complex is very large. And descriptive signs were there giving information in Italian and English on the details of the site. We could have spent hours there trying to take it all in.

Wanting to be mindful of the time, we took a few pictures (This is Susanne and I must interject that a few pictures does not describe the true amount that I have taken! Tim and Michelle have been very patient as every where we go is another picture spot that must be treasured...click! Oh, and a must needed selfie that proves I was here...click! This usually means I walk behind and sprint to catch up. I believe this is called interval training to those that workout.) Then we headed to the Roman Forum. The Rick Steve's audio guide that we used was very helpful in understanding not only the buildings we were seeing but why they were important. It's challenging to convey the awe of being surrounded by the once was grandeur of an ancient civilization. The Roman Forum is a must see and definitely requires several visits to take in the amount of ruins there are to walk through.

After the Roman Forum we headed back to the Pantheon to see the inside. The Pantheon is a round shaped building whose purposes have shifted and changed over time. It has been used as the home of many religious at various times. The engineering within the building, to have such a high dome and an open rooftop was impressive given when it was designed and constructed. And the amount of marble, even precious purple colored marble, makes your jaw drop.

Back outside of the Pantheon we decided to stop off for a recommended drink from one of the Rick Steve's guides (are you seeing a theme in the planning for this trip?). Tazza d'Oro is one of the oldest coffee shops in Rome and is located in the Pantheon piazza. We dropped in for their afternoon/hot day special, a refreshing granita di caffe con panna. An espresso slushy and whipped cream that is delicious and gives you a nice caffeine boost. There must be some way we can recreate this at home. I'm sure Tim and Susanne will be working on this. From here we pick up the last part of the Rick Steve's walk that we had not finished the day before.

On the audio walk, we pass by the Trevi Fountain. A daytime visit to the Trevi fountain is much different, the mob of people fill every step and niche overflowing to the surrounding streets. We were thankful to have had a peaceful experience the night before, so this time we could stand back and watch the sea of humanity reach the waters of the fountain. With an eye out for a fun dinner restaurant, we strolled down the streets in the general direction of the Spanish steps. An alleyway had a few restaurants with the inside empty and the outside tables packed. With many miles under our belts, we decided to go in for a quiet dinner. The waitstaff soon became delightful jokers poking fun at each of us. One even shared a glass of wine with us and another posed for a picture with Susanne...and then much to her surprise kissed her cheek just before the camera went off. We had a great laugh. As the evening rolled on, the inside of the restaurant became as lively as the outside. An Australian family was seated next to us. The mother had three young kids - 7, 6 and a baby. Surprisingly (sarcasm), Susanne and Michelle were drawn to the young baby and a fun exchange of travel stories ensued.

Theoretically we were supposed to end the day early and catch up on more sleep. But the city is so magical at night when the Romans come out to play that we found ourselves staying out later than anticipated. These are the times where you really feel like you are a part of the city, not just a tourist passing through. We made it to the Spanish steps and spent some time taking pictures and soaking up the last bit of the city. In the morning we had a busy day planned. We would leave early in the morning in the direction of the Cinque Terre. There would be one small stop off on the way in Pisa, where Tim, Susanne and Christyn would leave Michelle with the bags to make a quick trip into town to see the leaning tower. Michelle would then access wifi and make some phone calls to secure a room for the night in Vernazza. There were no rooms left on the hotel booking website that we usually use, so we were leaving Rome with no lodging plans in the Cinque Terre. Apparently we decided to travel in Rome during the beginning of their holiday season, and on the weekend we would be in the Cinque Terre it is their Republic Holiday, kind of like our 4th of July. This means lots of Italians will be traveling and celebrating. So we were hoping that there would be a room for us somewhere once we arrived.

Off to bed now, more adventures to come!

Catching More Flies with Honey than with Vinegar

After the delays in London, we honestly thought going to Rome just wasn't going to happen. We lost a total of two days Just getting out of England. But with good timing and fast feet, we have been able to blast through moving from Milan to Florence and through out list of "must sees" in Florence. We now find ourselves in a position to try to squeeze in Rome.

They say Rome wasn't built in a day, but we can now say it was "sightseen" in a day and a half. Though certainly not as relaxing as we would like it to be, we saw as much as we wanted to see, and certainly enough to get a flavor of it and earn some blisters on our feet in the mean time.

So here we go recapping the day! We had reservations to see the statue of David in the Academica in Florence.  The original plan was to hang out in Florence after our tour. Instead, we saw David, got our fill of some of Michelangelo's other works, and then hustled over to the train station. We actually arrived early, so we had some time to watch the local pick-pockets and "very helpful locals" create some havoc. There was a heave police presence that would intercede each time they would get close to a another person. Susanne and Christyn quickly learned how to spot the people up to no good among the travelers.

We departed Florence on a high speed train which quickly wisped us along through the countryside. We arrived in Rome just about noon, at the very busy Rome Termini train station. We made a quick stop in the tourist information office to buy our Roma Pass (which allows free public transportation and one free entrance into a site). The main benefit to us was the ability to skip the lines and use our pass to move quickly about the city. We walked to our hotel, fully loaded with big backpacks in back and day packs in front. It would have been nice to hop on the metro, but the hotel was less than one stop away and we were as wide as we were tall. Loaded down it would be hard to maneuver through the metro turnstiles and escalators...and potentially an easy target for pickpockets.

From the street our hotel "door" was a non descript wooden door with lots of buttons to ring the residences scattered throughout the five story building. We were buzzed in, and the door opened into a beautiful inner courtyard. Up one flight of stairs and the Jacksons encounter their first small lift in Europe. So many of Europes older hotels have been retrofitted with smaller elevators in the center of their internal stairways. The only issue is, these stairways were not designed to have an elevator, so they are often tinny, sometimes just for single individuals. Regardless, they are a welcome site to some weary travelers who don't want to climb 4 flights of stairs to their hotel. Two of us with bags squeeze into the lift at a time and rise up the inner shaft of the building. The hotel is a delightful, cheerily painted place. Our rooms come with balconies that open up to the inner courtyard. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time to sit and enjoy, we have places to go!

We hopped off of the metro and moved towards the Vatican. Because of the British Airways issue, our tickets are three days expired, and we are going to try our luck pleading our way into seeing the Vatican Museums and the Sisteen Chapel. We arrive at the ticket booth and the first ticket person directs us to the supervisor at the end of the line. A positive step...until he tells us that if we were here yesterday they could have helped us, but it is too late and the computer will not let us use the tickets. We produce documentation of the airplane delays, the apology letter we got from British Airways, anything and everything we could to try to get him to be flexible. But atlas, the computer says no, our only option is to buy new tickets. Succumbing to the reality that he was not going to help us and was not going to let us talk to another supervisor, we finally said okay. We had come this far, we needed to go in. As he looks at the screen, he tells us that today is full and he cannot sell us tickets. "Fine, can we get tickets for tomorrow at the same time as our original tickets 9AM?" No. In fact all tickets are sold out for tomorrow too. With that answer the dejected looks come out and the pleading starts anew. This time, he is more receptive. He picks up the phone, in a blur of Italian rattled off faster that we can even think, he hangs up the phone, looks at us and says "ok". "Okay? We reply" "Yes, okay you can go in. Here are your tickets, no charge. Hurry, we close in two hours". He then lets us know that he loves Southern California, having traveled there many times himself. Triumphantly Michelle and Tim walk over to Susanne and Christyn with tickets in hand.

Two hours is a tight timeframe to see the entire Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. We use the Rick Steve's audio guide to walk us through the museum. And we even sneak in a side trip to see the Egyptian Collection that includes two mummies - a first for Michelle and Tim. We roll into the Sisteen Chapel and admire as the audio guide lays out the history of the work in front of us. It is still stunning every time we see it. We leave the Sisteen Chapel to head to St. Peter's Cathedral, but before we cross the security guard line we find out that we will not be able to re-enter the area once we leave. We quickly spin around and walk to the ticket line to buy a ticket to climb the cupola (the interior dome of St. Peter's).  We are told the stairs are closed, but we can take the elevator up (and miss about 200 of the 500+ stairs) and then we can hike the rest of the way. Within 13 minutes of us buying tickets, while we are still waiting in line for the elevator, the big iron gates to this part of the museum close behind us. No one else will be allowed up today, we had just timed our purchase perfectly. Within minutes we are crammed into the elevator with 15 of our closest friends and shot up to the roof of Saint Peters Basilica. From there the hike up the stairs to the top of the dome begins, We have fun with pictures as the walls started curving in on us. The last few steps are up a spiral staircase with a rope hanging in the middle as a handrail, and you are then ejected out of the tight quarters into stunning views of Rome from the highest point around. Tim captured the moment perfectly in pictures when Susanne and Christyn hit the last step and saw the view in front of them. It is a sight to behold, especially given the 300+ steps that you still have to climb to get to the top, even when you use the elevator.  

We returned to ground level about 15 minutes before St. Peter's basilica was about to close. Not wanting to miss the moment, we opted to go inside and see what we could see, knowing full well that we might not be able to come back that direction if there were other sights on the list that we wanted to see tomorrow.  Time seemed to stand still once we entered the church. . The sheer massiveness of the place is overwhelming, and then you realize how close the Pope is and what he represents to millions of people around the world, and it takes your breath away.

We were one of the last groups of people to leave the church that night. Back out on the street, we started to walk towards the metro stop we needed, and then Tim realized that we also wanted to complete the night walk that we downloaded from Rick Steves. These walks tend to give us a good overview of the city and the major landmarks We all enjoy the brief history as well, but the corneyness does get a bit overwhelming at times. In this one we were able to learn about and see the history of the Campo de Fiori, Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. Because there is a restaurant near the Pantheon that Tim and Michelle love, we opted to stop our tour there and have dinner. The plan was to pick the tour back up at the Pantheon the next day.

Dinner was delicious as always. We tried to eat as the locals do in multiple course and then remembered that we couldn't eat that much food! Between the appetizers, first course an second course we all felt like we rolled out of there. Since there was no metro stop close to the Pantheon we opted to walk the entire way home. And wouldn't ya know it, in between our hotel and the Pantheon was a little thing called the Trevi fountain. :) At this point it is about 1 in the morning, which is actually the perfect time to go and visit the fountain. Most of the tourists are long in bed and the locals are out enjoying their city squares for the hang out places they were designed to be. And on top of that, the vendors and (we hope!) the thieves are also long gone. We spent about 20 minutes taking pictures and enjoying the playfulness of the moment.

Back at the room we decided that the next day in Rome would include something we have never done before on this trip. Sleep in. :) We will catch you up on the second day of Rome's happenings soon! Ciao!

Florence and the Opera at Midnight

Since we are a few days behind in our postings we will try to catch you up on the latest from the trip for our day in Florence and our first day in Rome. The pace of the trip and trying to catch up with the original itinerary is leading to a number of late nights and early mornings, which by day 5 are finally catching up with us. Every morning we say "We need to get to bed at a decent hour tonight" and every night we find ourselves strolling the town until midnight and 1:00am. These are the hours were you see less tourists and more residents coming out to enjoy the best that their city has to offer. It is fun being a part of that mix and to share moments with locals outside of the hustle and bustle of the day. But I digress. :)

Day 3 found us taking the high speed train to Florence early in the morning. The trip taking only taking an hour and a half, we arrived in Florence at 8AM. We strapped on our bags and took the short walk to the hotel. We had previously let the hotel know that we would need baggage storage, a quick check-in at the hotel and we dropped the bags to start the days adventures. To orient ourselves to the city and see many of the main sites we opted to do a Rick Steves walk around town. Though slightly cheesy at times, they are great walks for seeing the true parts of the city and getting the brief history as to why the sites are important. His guides for specific museums have also saved quite a bit of money and time as we have not had to spend extra money to purchase audio tours.

We started at the Duomo in the city center and learned a bit about the main church and its significance in the life of the city. It has been fun to watch the first reactions of Susanne and Christyn as we turn the corner from an small alley revealing the architectural masterpieces before us. The Duomo is large, the 4th largest in the world and is tightly surrounded by the city. So you really don't have a warning that you are approaching it, until wow there it is. The church is covered in pink and green marble which gives it a unique look when compared to other European churches. We walked down the main shopping street to another church (Orsanmichele), which we learned was originally a place where people could buy grain for their horses. Over time the real estate in the area made it too valuable to continue as a marketplace, and the arches leading to the streets were covered in to make the building a church. Each of the 14 archways were made into niches and local artists were hired to design statues to fill in the niches. As we admired and listened to the audio guide, an older Italian gentlemen relaxing on the nearby steps causally engaged Michelle in conversation. A quintessential Italian look to him, made for a great photo opt - Christyn got the best photo. We had to drag Michelle away to continue on our journey.

Popping in and out of various landmarks we pass works of art that continue to inspire awe in all of us...and it is all there for us to see. Reaching the Arno River, the views of the Ponte Vecchio with all of its buildings clinging to the bridge makes for a serene picture. As our audio guide tour ends, we pinch each other to remind us it is real and it is happening. The troubles of the airport quickly fading as new memories take hold. This is why we travel, to enjoy the beauty that unfolds around us with each new step. The Ponte Vecchio area is a tourist haven, but you cant help but get caught up in the sights and sounds as the beauty surrounds us. We drop into a few shops and start filling our bags with delightful reminders of where we are. One planned stop is a stationary store where they demonstrate how that make a unique oiled designed paper.

After a gelato stop and a infamous spoon incident, we start a stroll through the massive Boblini Gardens above the Pitti Palace. At the top of the gardens the views allow both great city views in one direction and in the other a hint of the Tuscan countryside. We wandered through the gardens for two hours and then strolled over to the Bardini Gardens, covered under the same ticket.

The early mornings and late evenings taking their toll, we stopped for take away Margarita Pizza and headed back to the hotel...it took longer than needed as Tim struggled to get his bearings. But as we wandered through the streets, Michelle stopped us and pointed down a street and said to Tim "Remember this place?" No he thought, I cant even remember if I had breakfast right now. Sleep deprivation was definitely hitting us hard. She pointed down a side street and reminded Tim of a restaurant that they had enjoyed in a previous trip. Once we verified that it was,  dinner plans were set. We then crashed at the hotel for a mid-afternoon nap.

 After a 5:30 alarm went off, we were back at it. We opted to let Christyn sleep while Susanne nod Tim went to the train station to secure tickets for the next day.  Michelle stayed behind to find a hotel. Within 20 minutes Susanne was back up and trying to wake Christyn up. I turns out, the market that we thought was open until 1pm actually closed at 6:00pm. Shopping at the market was the one thing Christyn really wanted to do, and we would be leaving too early in the morning for her to catch it on our way before the train. Michelle and Christyn then went to the market while Susanne rejoined Tim and headed to the train station.

It is amazing the kinds of deals you can get when you go right at closing time. Either that, or Christyn is a master negotiator. Or perhaps the retail prices are so inflated that everything looks like a steal. Or some combination of the three. Christyn bough scarves that were listed at 15 euros each for 3 for 20 euros and a purse originally listed at 35 euros for 15 euros. Within 20 minutes she had finished a good portion of her shopping list for friends and we were headed back to the room.

Once Tim and Susanne arrived from the train station we set out for dinner. The dinner was at a place called Osteria Zio Gigi where the owner is also the server and will bust out in very loud singing as he waits on the various tables. If he takes a liking to your table expect to be serenaded. If you can't make it to La Scalia in Milan, Zio Gigi is an excellent alternative. His wife is the perfect sarcastic foil to his over the top character. Our favorite line from her,  when we asked if he was going to be singing tonight was "If you call that loud noise singing!" That combined with good food makes for a memorable experience. With bellys full we headed back to the room. After a quick shower, the booking of a hotel room and packing up for the next morning we all crashed out in bed. Another full day, and tomorrow we will be in Rome!