Arrivederci Roma! (click link at bottom for the song)

Our last day in Rome started sunny and ended rainy - a bit like most of our other days although some started rainy and ended clear. We haven't been watching any TV or getting any news but we did get word about the Oklahoma tornado. Really bad and sad for the people affected.
On our last day we visited the Borghese Gallery, climbed the spanish steps, shopped along the Via Del Corso, and took in some great views from the top of the Victor Emmanuel monument. We also had a nice lunch in view of the Pantheon and dinner at an excellent local pizzeria. Of course we worked in more gelato too!
Da Baffetto serves traditional extremely thin crust pizza with great sauce and toppings. They don't take reservations and seating is family style which makes some people uncomfortable. We were happy to sit with a couple from Wisconsin and share travel stories. The prices were very reasonable and it was our favorite pizza in Rome.
Photos from our last day:

Spanish Steps

Lunch by the Pantheon

Top of Victor Emmanuel Monument

Da Baffetto pizzeria

Now we're heading home via London! Actually that's where I am as I write this, eating curry in the BA lounge! Cheers!

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( click here for Arrivederci Roma song )

Ciao Firenze!

We finished visiting Florence (Firenze) last night and today we are headed back to Rome! We ended up really liking Florence - the arts, the pizza, the gelato, the shopping, the short walks to everything, the friendliness of the people and the proximity to other cool sites in the Tuscan region. Here are some more pics;


(Notice the pizza makers in the mirror above)


Ponte Vecchio - bridge lined with gold and jewelry shops.


Salvatore Ferragamo shoe museum!


Hilltop view of Florence.


Santa Maria Novella basilica.


Inside the basilica.

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Tuscany

Toured Tuscany today visiting Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa. On the way we had a really nice lunch at a vineyard/farm which included four different locally produced wines. Siena is on the medieval route from Bavaria to Rome and the place where the first bank was established. It's also the site of the annual Palio horse race which appears to be a fantastic community wide party! San Gimignano had several preserved "tower houses" from medieval times, one of which we got to climb for some awesome photos! And Pisa, well it has the prestigious university where Galileo taught and you know what else! Here are a few of the many photos:
















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Venice

Ok, so maybe I reluctantly agreed to squeeze in a day trip to Venice. Now I actually think it must have been all my idea because it was another super place to see - if you like being around water that is! Even more than other places, it's hard to really capture the essence of Venice in photos. Here are a few anyway:

















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Photos of Firenze and Cinque Terre

Just a few pics of Firenze (Florence) and Cinque Terre ("five lands on the Italian riviera). These are from my phone as I have not had time to upload from my better camera yet!














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Florence is Fabulous!

Having a great time in Florence! Best Pizza = La Bussola; Best steak florentina = Buca Lapi; Best art = David in the Academia gallery. Today we spent hiking the trails in the Cinque Terre and it was awesome. Internet is weak at our hotel so photos will come later.

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Journey to the Vatican

We got our exercise in today by walking to the Vatican and back!  At the suggestion of our guide the first day, we went via Trastevere, a neighbor on the south side of the Tiber river and much less touristy than the Rome center.  There we also visited the Villa Farnesina and the Santa Maria in Trastevere church, both containing some beautiful art.  The whole area seemed more like what we think Italy might look like.

At the Vatican we toured the museums, Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Basilica.  We used Rick Steves' audio guide app on our iPhones and it was very helpful.  The art we saw was incredible - the Michelangelo frescos and sculpture, the Raphael frescos, and the Bernini sculpture, among others.  The sheer size of paintings in the Sistine Chapel and the gigantic interior of Saint Peter's are awesome.  And their history and the story they tell is amazing.  Despite warnings about the crowds, we had no lines and plenty of room to see and time to stand and gawk!  Definitely the highlight of our trip so far!













So today, we're off to Florence to see where the Renaissance all began!