Central Italy Trip Report

[RSM]

Just getting around to posting a photo intensive trip report for our Central Italy (Bella Italia) adventure from 6/17 to 6/24. This was a packed trip combining activities and some beautiful scenery, especially along the Amalfi Coast. Our guides, Marco and Milca were wonderful and great with the kids. The ABD was comprised of the Amalfi Coast, including Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, and Capri; Pompeii; and Florence/Tuscany (Siena, Lucca, and Pisa). Following the ABD, we went to Rome for 5 days on our own. I know it is not part of this ABD, but I'll post some photos of Rome also as I'm sure some folks book extra days prior to Viva Italia. As a note; in Rome we used Walks of Italy for four tours. They were excellent. We had early/private access to major sites and the largest group we had was 7. Anyways, I will break this up into an Amalfi section, a Florence/Tuscany section, and a Rome section.

Amalfi

We came in a day early and checked into the Hilton Sorrento. This was a very nice hotel with large rooms and a great pool. It looks like next year this ABD will be staying at the La Favorita hotel which is in the center of Sorrento. The Hilton is about a 10-15 minute walk from the main tourist area. Some views from the hotel (Mount Vesuvius in the background):

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The city of Sorrento:

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We saw the largest lemons in Sorrento. Some were the size of a soccer ball:

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The first full day of adventure was a trip along the Amalfi coast to Positano and a boat ride to Amalfi. Beautiful vistas along the Amalfi coast to Positano:

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These are the islands of the Sirens:

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It takes an expert driver to navigate the road:

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Entering Positano:

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Jenn, Rich, and Aiden in Positano:

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On the water to Amalfi. There is actually a night club underneath:

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In the center of Amalfi:

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The next day was spent in Capri. Will be continued in another post as the message is saying I've exceeded the max number of images.

 

[RSM]

We took a funicular from where the boat docks up to the main part of Capri. The following are some views from and of the island of Capri:

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We then went out to swim in the Meditterranean. Heading to our destination:

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One of the grottoes:

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Aiden swimming in the Med:

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After Capri, many went to the pool. That evening we we went to a farm where they grow and produce everything from scratch. We had a mozzarella making demonstration:

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and a pizza making lesson. Here is Aiden practicing with Milca (or getting flower all over the place):

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Next, it was on to Pompeii.

 

[RSM]

Day four was spent in Pompeii in the morning, then on to Florence that afternoon. Pompeii was hot (very hot) the day we were there. Some images from Pompeii:

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Interesting water fountain:

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Casts of some of the bodies found during the excavation:

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Many of the frescoes have been well preserved:

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What was once a restaurant:

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A main meeting/social area:

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The remainder of the day was spent on the train to Florence and on our own in Florence.

 

[tufbuf]

Great photos, RSM! Can you post a photo of Marco? Does he go by Marc too? Not sure if he was our Alpine Magic guide since there 5 or 6 ABD Marco's.

 

[sayhello]

Beautiful! Looking forward to more of your pictures!

The Capri & Agriturismo farm pictures sure brought back memories! Some of the excursions from the Med cruise add-on were taken from Bella Italia. I *loved* the pizza making! Looks like you guys had a great time!

Positano still makes me think of "Under the Tuscan Sun"!

Sayhello

 

[RSM]

We arrived in Florence and checked into the Hotel Bernini, a very nice boutique hotel. That evening we had dinner as a group and did a wine tasting. The kids also had their junior adventurer's night. Of all the group meals and activities, this evening's was the most disappointing. Although a good buffet, the meal was in a backroom of the hotel. It would have been nice to enjoy the outside dining that Florence offers. The wine tasting basically consisted of the bartender pouring us 2 glasses of wine in the lounge. For those that have done the wine tasting in Stresa (on Alpine Magic), there was no comparison. Other than this evening, the rest of the activities were great. The following day, we took a city tour, saw the statue of David, did a self-portrait/painting in an art studio, and had the afternoon/evening to ourselves. Some photos from Florence:

The Ponte Vecchio during the day and at night:





Aiden and Milca work on a painting of Vesuvius:



Jenn, Rich, and Aiden at the Duomo:



We climbed to the top of the Duomo. You climb between an inner dome and outer dome. Some photos of the inside and outside:





From the cupola:



The duomo at night:



This shot was taken from Piazzo Vecchio Hall. This is where they are investigating whether DaVinci's lost frescoe of "The Battle of Anghiari" is located behind another painting:



The next 2 days we used Florence as a home base, but went into Tuscany. Exploring Siena, Monteriggioni, Lucca, and Pisa.

 

[tufbuf]

Amazing photos! The duomo at night is just gorgeous!! Did you climb the cupola on your own? I saw the documentary on the search for Da Vinci's lost fresco. It was quite interesting!

 

[RSM]

The next 2 days were spent travelling to Siena and Monteriggioni, then Lucca and Pisa the following day. As it turned out we really loved everything about Siena. From it's history, to the Palio race, to the people.

A view of the main area of Siena:



Our guide, Marco, shows us one of the 17 flags representing the various "neighborhoods" of Siena which participate in the Palio (a wild horse race around the main square).



This is where the Palio will be held. They were just beginning to set up while we were there.



Each of the districts decorates with lights representing their district:



We went to the Torture Museum. It was very interesting. Unfortunately, Aiden now realizes where mom and dad learned their tricks:



Next, it was on to Monteriggioni. This is a very small, walled-in town. Some great Tuscan scenery outside the walls, and interesting shops inside:





The owner of a wine shop also told us the significance of the black rooster. Back in the 1200's, Siena and Florence disputed over jurisdiction of the Chiani wine region. To settle the dispute they agreed that each would send their fastest rider when the rooster crowed. Where they met would determine the boundary. Siena chose a well fed white rooster, Florence starved a black rooster. On the given day the white rooster crowed at the crack of dawn, while the starved black rooster crowed well before, thus giving the Florentine rider a significant head start. Hence, the boundary line was only 19 miles north of Siena. The black rooster is now the symbol of authentic Chianti wine.



The next day was on to Lucca, a bigger walled in city, and to Pisa. Getting ready to ride along the walls of Lucca:



Looking over the wall:



Not sure how safe this car would be in the US:



Finally, the obligatory holding up the leaning tower photo:



That evening was the farwell dinner from Florence (continued on next thread).

 

[RSM]

The farewell dinner was held outdoors at a restaurant on the Piazzale Michelangelo overlooking Florence:



The food was very good and we had some singing and folk dancing:



Time to say farewell to our wonderful guides:



The sun sets on our Bella Italia ABD:





But, vacation is not over yet. We take the train to Rome (next thread).

 

[RSM]

Amazing photos! The duomo at night is just gorgeous!! Did you climb the cupola on your own? I saw the documentary on the search for Da Vinci's lost fresco. It was quite interesting!

Thanks Tufbuf. The Marco we had on this adventure is not the same one that did Alpine Magic. We did climb to the top of the duomo on our own. I think it was something like 6 or 8 euros, and 463 steps.

 

[tufbuf]

Thanks!! Can't wait to see your tour of Rome. Is this the one that goes underground as well?

 

[RSM]

After a wonderful adventure, we went to Rome for 5 days. Prior to leaving the states, we had set up a number of tours. Three were with Walks of Italy. We went on the Twilight Walking Tour, the VIP tour of the coloseum and Roman Forum, and their Crypts, and bones, and catacombs tour. If anyone is looking to book a half day tour, I'd recommend you check these guys out. The guides were great and the largest group we had was 7. The VIP tour of the coloseum provided a private entrance for our group of 7. We got to go into the hypogaeum (the tunnel area on the ground), as well as the upper deck of the coloseum. The crypts and bones and catacombs tour was also fascinating. The highlights being the Capuchin crypt and a tour of the catacombs de Priscilla where the oldest known image of the Virgin Mary is (unfortunately couldn't take many photos on this tour). We also hired a private guide for a tour of the Vatican museums and St. Peters.

Trevi Fountain



The Spanish Steps



The sculpture atop the Parliament Building



This was being a good husband. Jenn was raised in western Pennsylvania and is a huge Steelers fan. I am a huge Patriots fan. Remembering a previous post from Diskidatheart, I knew there was a "steelers bar" in Rome. We ended up finding it, much to the (pleasant) surprise of Jenn:



The next morning, we went to "Gladiator School". This may sound a little corny, but our instructor is a historian of gladiators, participates in modern day gladiator competitions himself, and is an MMA fighter. He takes it very seriously, but it was really alot of fun along with being educational. They have a small museum and and an arena set up where he taught a number of fighting forms, sparring, and trying on and sparring with authentic armor.

Aiden working on forms and sparring with our instructor:





In full gear. All total a gladiator would be carrying/wearing about 90 pounds worth of gear. The shield itself weight 45 lbs.



Next it was on to the coloseum and Forum.

 

[RSM]

We did this tour with walks of Italy. In the coloseum, we got to go down into the hypogaeum and to the top deck of the coloseum.

From the outside



At the ground level





From the upper tier



On to the Roman Forum



The coloseum at night





The final day was at the Vatican.

 

[RSM]

Our final day in Rome was spent at the Vatican. It was a long day as we got tickets for the general audience with the Pope, followed by a guided tour of the Vatican Museums, and St. Peters. We also climbed to the top of St. Peters to get some great views of Vatican City and Rome.

The Swiss Guard at the Vatican



St. Peter's square



General audience with the Pope



Moving into the basilica. The Pieta:



The vatacombs or Pope's tombs:



A view of St. Peter's square from the roof of St. Peter's



Up close to the Saints that line the basilica



From there it was on our way home, with a brief stop in Dublin. Hope this is at least a little bit helpful for those with the travel spirit. If anyone has any questions, feel free to use this forum or PM me.

 

[tufbuf]

The Rome tours are wonderful!!! It gives a new perspective of their famous sights! How did you get tickets for the general audience with the Pope? They allowed you to take photos in the Pope's tombs? We were not allowed when we visited it.

 

[RSM]

The Rome tours are wonderful!!! It gives a new perspective of their famous sights! How did you get tickets for the general audience with the Pope? They allowed you to take photos in the Pope's tombs? We were not allowed when we visited it.

Thanks Tufbuf. We actually booked with Dark Rome tours. Although, the general audience tickets are free, we went with Dark Rome. It was about 30 euro and they provided about 2 hours of history and commentary of what would happen. The guide also knew exactly where to go to get the best views.

 

[tufbuf]

Thanks Tufbuf. We actually booked with Dark Rome tours. Although, the general audience tickets are free, we went with Dark Rome. It was about 30 euro and they provided about 2 hours of history and commentary of what would happen. The guide also knew exactly where to go to get the best views.

Thanks so much!! Very helpful, as always... Making me rethink of spending pre-nights in Rome instead of Barcelona on our Med cruise.... Hmmmmm....

 

[Joan S.]

Hi, Just wanted to say Thank You for posting these BEAUTIFUL photos!! Joan

 

[sayhello]

Excellent photos! All the night-time shots are, of course, what I missed out on by doing a cruise vs an ABD! I love the night shot of the Ponte Vecchio and the Coliseum! I really like the variety of stuff you did on your post-days. You really saw some of that stuff from a very different vantage point!

Thanks for sharing! Please be sure and put a link to your lovely Report in the Trip Report Sticky!

Sayhello

 

[RSM]

The Rome tours are wonderful!!! It gives a new perspective of their famous sights! How did you get tickets for the general audience with the Pope? They allowed you to take photos in the Pope's tombs? We were not allowed when we visited it.

We didn't have a problem taking photos of the Pope's tombs. We were with a guide who was pretty diligent about telling us what we couldn't take photos. There was also Vatican security around.