Heading to Italy
This was our longest day on the bus, but the scenery was mesmerizing with lush mountains, hills, and castles everywhere. We stopped in Bolzano, Italy for a few hours that afternoon and went to the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, which houses Ötzi, the Iceman. It was interesting to see how much information could be gathered from this one man and his body which was well preserved for thousands of years. The skeleton has to be kept under highly controlled temperatures, but a model was made to show what the scientists believe Ötzi looked like 5300 years ago. After we left the museum, everyone split up for lunch on their own. Our family decided to walk around the street market and buy various meats, cheeses, fruits, and nuts from different vendors and eat them near the town square. We also admired some local door handles shaped like men with their tongues out. After a few more hours on the road, we swapped our bus out for a boat that took us past the main island of Venice to a small island in the Venice lagoon called the Lido, where we got settled into another unique and beautiful hotel. After a short tour of the island, we had a big group dinner together, complete with breadsticks, pizza, dessert, wine, and of course, sparkling water. Venice Our morning started out with a tutorial on how to get around the different islands via vaporetto. Once we got to Venice, we were met by a local tour guide, who showed us around the city. She taught us about the canals and the history of Venice, including its many famous buildings and statues. We also learned about the art of mask making and got to see and participate in a demonstration. After our guided walking tour, we went inside St. Mark’s Basilica and saw its brilliant gold ceiling and the original horses of St. Mark, which have been brought inside and restored. We weaved in and out of all of Venice’s museums and the Doge’s Palace for a day full of art, culture, and history, which included the Bridge of Sighs. Of course, what would a day in Venice be without some gelato and a gondola ride? The gelato was delicious and the gondola ride was definitely a highlight of our trip. Bea was able to get a fabulous professional opera singer and guitarist to serenade us as our gondolier steered us through the picturesque canals. It was fun to see all of the locals popping their heads out of their homes to listen to the opera singer’s impressive vocals. A beautiful sunset on the water completed our special day in Venice. Traveling to Tuscany Before leaving for Tuscany, our family walked down to see the Lido beach and took a moment to reflect on how great our trip had been so far. We only had 2 cities left and we wanted to make sure we got the most out of them. We boarded the bus and after a few hours, we arrived at our lunch destination, a “food park” called Eataly World, which was basically the ultimate Italian food court. It was so big, they were handing out maps. This place not only had restaurants, but also farm animals and windows into where they produce all of their food so you can see how everything is made. It was a really neat and different experience! Our next stop was the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, a World War II cemetery with over 4,000 graves and 1,400 missing people’s names on the Walls of the Missing. We had a laid-back night, talking with one another and relaxing by the pool before a nice dinner together. Our hotel was tucked away in the quiet Tuscan countryside where you could look out and see for miles. San Gimignano We took a day trip to the charming town of San Gimignano. We learned that the town originally had 72 towers, but now only 13 remain. We climbed to the top of the bell tower to get a birds-eye view of San Gimignano and then did a little bit of shopping in the town’s market. A gelato shop in the town was the Gelato World Champion twice, so we had to make a stop there and see what the world’s best gelato tasted like. It didn’t disappoint! Back at our hotel, the chef gave us a lesson on how to make pasta from scratch and even included us in helping to prepare dinner. After a friendly match of ping pong and archery with our new friends on the tour, it was time to sit down for the most delicious Italian food, all made from scratch. Best pasta ever! They even made fresh gluten-free pasta for our family member who has to eat gluten free. Throughout the whole trip, Bea made sure any food allergies or concerns were always addressed and the food was safe. All Roads Lead to Rome Breakfast at our Tuscan hotel was amazing. They even made us fancy lattes. We couldn’t stop looking out the windows on our drive from Tuscany to Rome because everything was so beautiful. We passed tons of Italian cypress trees and large fields of sunflowers as tall as us. We stopped at the Gardens of Bomarzo for a fun excursion full of mythical statues and monsters. After lunch, we were back on the road to Rome! When we arrived in Rome, we had to say goodbye to our awesome bus driver and friend, Paul. Bea took us on a walking tour of the city, which included the Pantheon, the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II, history about Julius Caesar, and of course some gelato. We ended the night with a family dinner at a wonderful local pizza place. 27,102 steps We wasted no time in Rome! We went on an early morning walk with a couple of other adventurous tour members to the Trevi Fountain, passing the Pantheon again, but this time it was empty - pretty crazy. After making our wishes at the Trevi Fountain, we continued our journey to the Spanish Steps and beyond to explore more of the city before joining our group for breakfast. Our group headed out for the day and met our spunky, knowledgeable, and entertaining local guide who took us on a tour of the Roman Forum and Colosseum. The city of Rome has so much history packed into it and having a guide to tell us about everything made the day so enjoyable and memorable. Did you know they used to fill up the Colosseum with water and put on shows with ships? After our fantastic tour, we took a taxi to the Vatican Museums and saw the famous Sistine Chapel. We were lucky enough to get into St. Peter’s Basilica and take Rick Steves’ audio guided tour to fully appreciate all of the details. After leaving the Basilica, we walked around Vatican City a little more before walking back to our hotel to freshen up for our last dinner as a group. Our last dinner was bittersweet as we reflected on the fun we had and the new friends we made. At the end of the day, our step count was over 27,000 steps! Well worth it, though! Ciao Europa! Our flight left early in the morning, so we had to check out of our hotel before everyone else. Lucky for us, we had the most amazing tour guide who arranged transportation to the airport for us and provided us with to-go breakfasts since we were missing the group breakfast. What an incredible experience this trip was and it’s all thanks to Rick Steves and his wonderful team! Thanks for all of the memories you helped us make! |