John and Kevin's Big Christmas in Italy Adventure

Gotta tie up a couple of loose ends...

First...after paying attention for a while, I think we just a crappy Hop on - Hop off bus. The other buses look MUCH nicer. Our bus needed maintenance, but the others seemed in better condition.

Second, after much investigation, we think we got some pretty good intel on the best gelato in Rome. Grom gelato at the edge of the Piazza Navonna is just great. Fresh, no preservatives, made in plain sight of customers, all natural and less expensive than most other places.

Okay...now for today.

Today was Vatican day. What can you say? No matter what religious beliefs you may hold....St Peter's Basilica is incredible in size, scope and human accomplishment. And, it holds Michaelangelo's Pieta. Truly a thing of immense beauty....again....regardless of religious affiliation.

We were told hat St Peter's hold weddings, but is booked for quite a while. I suggested John sign he and I up for a future date. Did anyone else hear thunder? ;)

Vatican day starts early. (Breakfast was better yesterday). This morning, the sausage was underdone and the eggs were room temp at best.

After seeing St Peter's, visiting the Vatican Museum, seeing he Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Square.....like any great Disney venture....you exit through the gift shop, where you can buy all sorts of religious stuff.

After that....lunch. Lots of cold veggie antipasto and then a pre chosen meal. Lasagna, veal and pork were the available choices. Apps better than entrees.

The eafternoon and evening were on our own. So what do we do when we have free time in a major city? We shop. Didnt get much, but found a couple of things.

Tonight is packing night. We have to have our luggage outside our room by 8am.

Tomorrow we head for Florence with a side trip to Orvieto.

It's 8:45pm and we are ready for another early morning and another busy day.

Florence here we come.

More later.
 
Say "Hi!" to the David for me! :)

Glad you're having a great trip so far!

I agree -- the Grom gelato was delish!

Sayhello
 
Loving the updates! Thanks do much for taking us all with you!!

Safe travels to Florence. I love that city too! :love:
 

Sounds wonderful so far! Safe travels to Florence!
 
Just loving the updates. I can just picture you on the bus, at the Vatican and at Trevi Fountain....... :goodvibes Cannot wait for more updates and to hear about Christmas in Florence. Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. :santa:
 
This morning we leave for Tuscanny!!!

Just waiting for Kevin to get ready and we head to breakfast and then on the bus.

Last night we explored a lot of Rome - some by foot and some by Taxi. The Taxi drivers here are all so nice. You ask them if they speak English and they all pull out their 'easy English' books and say things like hello, how are you, where do you want to go - one said he learned 'tip' - he was very cute.

We found the leather store Kevin was looking for and the Disney store. The streets and shops were all crazy busy.

One of the coolest things we saw was an intersection they called Pointe Magic - lots of lights and two Xmas trees - one decorated in all Mercedes Benz lights the other in all Fendi lights - to represent the sponsoring stores. Sounds tacky but was actually done in a very cool way.

More to come....
 
Hope the bus ride is smooth. Looking forward to more tales of the trip. :surfweb:
 
I'm posting from our bus, so please excuse any typos.....

We have just left Orvieto. This is a half day stop, but it's one of my favorites.

Orvieto is famous for pottery / ceramics. We bought a few things in 2006, and we just added to our collection. We re- visited the same family owned and operated shop. Everything is produced locally and hand painted.

We had lunch in a small cafe and wandered the town.

We now have a 2 1/2 ride to Florence, where we will stay for three nights.

The bus is very quiet. I think we have quite a few nappers and they are playing Disney's Hercules on the TVs.

Our ride is through breathtaking Tuscan countryside.

I'm off to watch the scenery go by and maybe.......nap.

More later....:eek:
 
I'm posting from our bus, so please excuse any typos.....

We have just left Orvieto. This is a half day stop, but it's one of my favorites.

Orvieto is famous for pottery / ceramics. We bought a few things in 2006, and we just added to our collection. We re- visited the same family owned and operated shop. Everything is produced locally and hand painted.

We had lunch in a small cafe and wandered the town.

We now have a 2 1/2 ride to Florence, where we will stay for three nights.

The bus is very quiet. I think we have quite a few nappers and they are playing Disney's Hercules on the TVs.

Our ride is through breathtaking Tuscan countryside.

I'm off to watch the scenery go by and maybe.......nap.

More later....:eek:

So the ceramic store was open? Did you get a platter?

Andiamo, Kevin. :)
 
Just left Orvieto and on our way to Florence!!!

Orvieto is so beautiful and quant - I would love to spend a month exploring the town.

We bought some pottery at our favorite ceramic store in Orvieto (who knew we would have a favorite ceramic store in Orvieto) and bought one huge piece that we are very excited about. We had lunch at the same little cafe we did last time (we are creatures of habit) and poked our head into several little shops.

We're back on the bus and heading to Florence.

Time goes so fast on an ABD trip!!!
 
:lmao:

We approached Orvieto differently this time.:thumbsup2

I've learned some stuff since 2006.
Yay! So glad things worked out better this time. :goodvibes

Just left Orvieto and on our way to Florence!!!

Orvieto is so beautiful and quant - I would love to spend a month exploring the town.

We bought some pottery at our favorite ceramic store in Orvieto (who knew we would have a favorite ceramic store in Orvieto) and bought one huge piece that we are very excited about. We had lunch at the same little cafe we did last time (we are creatures of habit) and poked our head into several little shops.

We're back on the bus and heading to Florence.

Time goes so fast on an ABD trip!!!
We want pictures of the ceramics! (Although I'm assuming you had them shipped, so we'll have to wait a bit for that.)

Enjoy Florence! And yes, those ABD's just soar on by.

Sayhello
 
What a fun time shopping and traveling! Glad you got to spend some time in the Vatican, as opposed to the Vatican gift shop :rolleyes1
I bet the country side is beautiful to look at! Yaaaa on the pottery/ceramics shop purchase...you'll always remember this trip everytime you see the piece. Hope all your goodies make it home safe and sound.
So Christmas is almost here! Have a wonderful time in Florence!!!! :goodvibes
Merry Christmas to you both! :santa::santa::santa:
~Cathy
 
I LOVE reading each and every trip report and the posts following. One can I hope to go to Italy on one of these trips. Keep them coming!

:surfweb:
 
9:30pm and we are back in our room.

We are staying in the Bernini Palace...just off Piazza del Signora.

It's an excellent location and steps from all of the stuff you wan to see and do.

After our bus ride from Orvieto, we arrived at the hotel at 5:30ish.

After checking in and fleshing up we had an excellent dinner.

After dinner, adults were invited to a wine tasting and kids had a movie / party.

There are a bunch of kids on this Advenure and they range in age from 7ish to 16. They' fun to be around.

Not being a wine drinker...John and I went for a walk around the Piazza.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and we are headed to the Acadamia to see Micheangelo's David and hen a tour of Florence?

After that, we have the rest of the day free to shop, sightsee and have dinner on our own.

ABD gave everyone 5 euros in order to buy a "white elephant" Christmas gift and we are having a gift swap on Christmas day.

That's what's going on at the moment.

More later.........
 
Loving the updates! I'm sure you'll enjoy your Christmas Eve in beautiful Florence! :thumbsup2
 
:cloud9: I wait anxiously everyday for your updates and as always they never disappoint.

I can't wait to hear all about the hotel in Florence and your Christmas eve dinner. I can only imagine how beautiful the city must be at this time of year.

:santa:
Buon Natale
 












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