Destination VII: Naples, Italy

Kenneth and I after our scooter ride ♥

The Scooter!!!

The Blue Grotto

Faglioni

The view from where we stopped the scooter...

Capri and the Mediterranean!!!

Kenny and I on our way to the Blue Grotto...

Sorrento, Italy

Pompeii, Italy

Pompeii, Italy

The first ever snack bar!!! There have been 89 discovered in the remains of Pompeii so far!

Pompeii's Colosseum

My new B.F.F.

Don't let the title deceive you, we weren't actually in Naples a.k.a. the scariest place in the world. In our travel book it warned us that there had been 100 street-side mafia murders in 2007. Not exactly what you would call safe. The only time we actually spent in Naples was inside the central train station, and that was perfectly fine with me. As soon as we arrived in Naples we got on another train that took us to Portici, where our hostel was. Portici is supposed to be much safer than Naples, and for the most part I felt safe. We found the hostel and dropped off our things, and right away we headed to Pompeii.

Pompeii was incredible. Basically Pompeii was a thriving ancient city until Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. and buried it under 20 meters of ash. It was nearly 1,600 years before Pompeii was rediscovered. That is when excavations began, and they are still going strong. I expected just a small ruins sight... I was completely blown away by the size of the ancient city. We got audio guides and listened as we learned about the churches, market places, original snack bars, people's homes, and their cobble stone streets. Since there were no street lights in those ancient times, the people put down white shells when they were making their roads so the light of the moon would reflect off them and they could see where they were going. Smart cookies! My favorite part about Pompeii was meeting my new B.F.F. Apparently Pompeii is connected to a dog adoption agency, so there are dogs roaming the roads (I didn't know this until after we left.) Taking a nap on one of the roads was the sweetest little puppy, so I knelt down to pet him... The rest is history. He got up and started following me around. It was the cutest thing ever! After exploring Pompeii we headed back to the train station. We ended up getting on the wrong train and went all the way back to Naples, instead of Portici. Then we had to wait for 25 minutes for the next train to leave Naples that stopped in Portici. Then, we missed our stop. So, we got off at the next one. Somehow we got lost trying to walk in the direction of our train stop. I didn't feel that safe, especially when Kenny was asking if I was making eye contact with people. Finally I gave up and asked someone if they spoke English. We were in luck. They pointed us in the right direction, so we walked some more. By the time we reached the station I realized we went back one too far and passed our station yet again. It had now been nearly three hours since leaving Pompeii... What a day! When we finally found the street our hostel was on, which by the way we had to cross to get to the stop before ours, we ate at the first place we stumbled upon. A delicious pizzeria; did I mention pizza was invented in Naples??? I ordered a lasagna pizza which came complete with scoops of ricotta cheese on top. It was AMAZING! After dinner I was so exhausted I barely even remember the walk home.

The next morning, we got up and got ready for our adventure to the island of Capri. We got on a train to Sorrento, and from there took a ferry to Capri. Sorrento was beautiful; it almost seemed tropical. There were huge lemon and orange trees lining the streets, and everything was green. We had a couple of hours to kill before the ferry left, so we enjoyed the shoreline and took lots of pictures. We even bought a bottle of Limoncello and some chips to enjoy once we got to Capri. After our ferry docked in Capri, we hopped off and headed towards our first order of business: The Blue Grotto. We knew we really wanted to see it, so we bought our tickets and hopped on another boat. The small boat took us to this tiny little cave. Once we were outside the cave we got into a row boat. We were instructed to lie down as we entered the grotto. Once inside it was absolutely beautiful. The water is illuminated bright blue naturally because the rocks inside don't touch the ground, so the sun shines through. It was incredible. After we got back to the main part of the island, we walked around and explored a little before finding a nice spot on the beach to enjoy our chips and Limoncello. After hanging out on the beach for a while we decided to play over or under for renting a motor scooter... I said €35 for an hour because I thought it sounded like so much fun. We were in luck because it ended up costing only €15 for an hour. What a deal. We got to cruise around Capri on a scooter!!! How amazing! I could tell it definitely made Kenny giddy to be riding something with two wheels again. The views we got from the scooter were incredible... It was probably the best spent €15 of the entire trip! As our hour concluded it was time to head back to Sorrento so we got on the ferry and set sail. Since it was Easter Sunday the public transport system was a little out of whack. We were going to have to take a bus back to Naples and then another from Naples to Portici. Ugh. The train ride from Portici to Sorrento was 45 minutes... This was going to take forever! After waiting around for a half hour or so we pushed our way to the front of the line to ensure we had seats on this treacherous ride back to the hostel. Unfortunately, Kenny and I got separated, but we were only a row apart so it wasn't that big of deal. About an hour into the ride the girl sitting next to me got violently ill and threw up all over the window. I hadn't had anything to eat in a while, and I almost got sick from the smell. So I moved to the floor next to Kenny. After another hour or so we were wondering where exactly we were, so I went to the front of the bus and five different people were all trying to explain to me what I needed to do to get back to Portici. Then the bus driver offered to make an extra stop for Kenny and I so we didn't have to go all the way to Naples. They were all so friendly, and the gesture helped out so much! We finally made it back to Portici and decided to eat dinner in our hostel since everywhere else was closed.

The next morning we woke up and headed to the train station. I had a 16:00 flight to catch back to Prague from Rome. The budget train ride was sold out, so we had to spend more money to take another. The train station was a mad house; who would have known Easter Monday was so intense. We made it to Rome and wanted to grab something for lunch. Every single place in the entire city of Rome was closed. Except for the kebab place across the street from the train station. Kebabs it was. They were actually pretty good but nothing in comparison to the delicious food we enjoyed the entire previous week. After lunch we headed towards the airport (which was also a madhouse.) As usual it sucked saying goodbye to Kenny, but this time, it wasn't too bad because I knew I'd be seeing him in Morocco in only a week and a half! We said our goodbyes and I headed for my gate. I was super surprised to see that my friends Morgan, Nick, and Drew were all on my same flight home; what a coincidence! And then my spring break was over. It will go down in the history books as the best spring break EVER. I pretty much had the time of my life ♥

Destination VI: Rome, Italy

Kenny, his roommate, and I during the pub crawl...

Red wine, Schweppes, Italian cheese, crackers... And the Spanish Steps ♥

The famous oculus in the Pantheon... the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome!

The Pantheon (under construction... how typical!)

The Roman Forum

Temple of Romulas in the Roman Forum... these are the second oldest working doors in Rome! (The first are at the Pantheon...) The purple stone making the columns to the sides of the doors was exhausted by the Romans because they liked it so much. Its also the same type of stone that was used to make Nero's bath.

Just hanging out at Palatine Hill!

Colosseum!!!

Colosseum!!!

The view from the top of the Spanish Steps...

The Trevi Fountain at dusk...

Kenny and I at Trevi Fountain...

Making my wish at the Trevi Fountain!

We arrived at the Rome train station sometime around 23:00 and just barely missed the last train heading in the direction of our hostel. This meant we had to follow the night directions. That meant riding a bus. After missing it the first time around, we climbed inside and settled in for a nice long ride to a parking lot filled with more buses, and then we climbed inside another one. When we finally reached our bus stop it felt like we were literally in the middle of no where. The hostel shuttle service wasn't running anymore, so that meant we had a one kilometer walk ahead of us. Fun. We started walking and Kenny filled me in on how the new Yamaha and Honda dirt bikes have changed and why they are so much better now. By the time he was finished we were at the hostel. I was pretty happy he was able to distract me for the entire kilometer. Our hostel was called Camp Tiber, and our room was half of a small mobile home thing. It had the squishiest beds I have ever slept on... Not the best for a good night's sleep. We could hear our neighbor snoring all through the night, and around 3:00 the power went out, so it was freezing. I know, it probably sounds awful, but it wasn't half bad. There was a mini-mart, a restaurant, a bar, and as long as you made the shuttle/train not too far of a trek into the city. Plus it was cheap... That's always the best part being a poor student traveler.

The next morning we woke up and headed to Vatican City (check the previous post.) After spending the entire day at Vatican City we decided to try and squeeze in a few more sights. So, we headed in the direction of the metro. Problem. It was closed and we were directed to take a bus instead. We found the bus we needed to get to Trevi Fountain. The ride was not what I would call pleasant. It seemed to take forever, and the bus was way past capacity. We were crammed so tightly it was impossible to move one muscle. About half way through the bus ride a handicapped man insisted that the bus driver let him on the bus because he was handicap even though he could clearly tell there was no room. Have you ever seen a bus full of Italian's become furious... I have! And let me just say, all the stereotypes are true, hand gestures included. I know, I get it, he was handicap, but in order for him to get on the bus 10 other people had to get off. I just didn't think it was fair. But, what can you do? Finally we made it to the Trevi Fountain. After being bombarded by men trying to take our pictures, we made our wishes! And for good measure made an extra one to ensure a return visit to Rome! So touristy, I know. From there we headed to the Spanish Steps. At the Spanish Steps you have to watch out for the rose pushers. Those men are relentless. After insisting their roses were gifts and that they were free they would ask Kenny for money. They would walk up to me and set the roses on my purse. They don't take no for an answer! I managed to not end up with any roses though. If they set them on my purse I would take them and set them on the guy's arm. I figured their system out. After spending all day and part of the evening out exploring we made our way back to our side of town, and enjoyed dinner at a small restaurant right next to the hostel. That night we crashed.

The next morning as we were waiting for the shuttle to pull up someone shouted Kenny's name. Coincidentally, Kenny's roommate, Taylor, and his girlfriend, Marisa, were staying at the same place... Weird. So we got on the shuttle and headed to the city. Our first stop was the Colosseum. We decided to get a tour. Probably not the best idea for the Colosseum because our guide was a moron! He kept referencing the movie Gladiator and filling our heads with useless information. Luckily the tour also included Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, and that tour had a different guide... With a brain. Anyway, the Colosseum was incredible. It was so huge! As I have said before I really enjoy ruins, so this entire day was right up my alley. After we left the Colosseum we headed to Palatine Hill. Rome's origins are on Palatine Hill and the ruins there are incredible. The tour guide had lots of fun stories; I felt like I learned a lot. After Palatine Hill we headed down to the Roman Forum. In the Roman Forum, we saw all sorts of things including Caesar's grave and the Roman Senate house. From there we headed to the Pantheon. It is the most well persevered building from Ancient Rome, unfortunately for us it was under construction, so we didn't get the full effect of the exterior. Inside we got to see the oculus, which is the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. It is incredible to think about the technology and intelligence the Romans had nearly 2,000 years ago. Some royalty is buried inside the Pantheon, but the tomb I was most intrigued by was Raphael's. After leaving the Pantheon we enjoyed some more gelato... I chose something that tasted like eggnog and it was really good! After checking out the Pantheon we picked up some wine, Schweppes, cheese, and crackers and enjoyed them on the Spanish Steps (this is probably one of my favorite memories.) We tried to get a hold of Kenny's roommate to see if he and his girlfriend wanted to get dinner, and that's when they told us about the pub crawl. Basically, we went, we crawled, we conquered (or at least that's what our free t-shirts say.)

The next morning we slept in a little later than normal and decided to take the day nice and easy. We ended up in a park somewhere a little out of town near the catacombs. We had a guided tour through the catacombs, and it was really interesting. It was the first ever Christian burial site, and several popes had been buried there. Over the years the catacombs were pillaged and the tombs were opened, so no remains were actually in the catacombs. Whatever was left of the bodies is now deep under the catacombs (which are already 30 meters below ground.) So, it was nothing like what we saw in Paris, but very interesting nonetheless. that night we enjoyed a delicious dinner, and I had lasagna again. The next morning we woke up and said farewell to Camp Tiber... we were off to Naples!

Destination V: Vatican City

List of all the dead popes...

Inside St. Peter's Basilica...

Inside St. Peter's Basilica...

Inside St. Peter's Basilica...

St. Peter's Basilica

Sneaky picture of Michaelangelo's masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel...

Statue in the Vatican Museum...

Nero's Bath in the Vatican Musuem...

Statue in the Vatican Museum...

Statue in the Vatican Museum...

Sarcophagus of a woman from Thebes in the Vatican Museum...

Okay, so technically our next stop was the city of Rome, but we did spend an entire day in Vatican city. Being the smallest sovereign nation, I figured it deserved some special attention. Vatican City's sovereignty means that it stands independent of Italy and is the smallest nation in the world, measuring less than one square kilometer.

After eating some pizza for breakfast we headed into the Vatican Museum. Like usual, Kenny and I picked up our audio guide tours and set out. We were informed that if you stood in front of every item in the Vatican Museum for one minute it would take 12 years to see everything inside. So, we listened to our guides and paid special attention to the things we found interesting. I kind of have an obsession with statues of heads and in the museum there was an entire hall filled with them. I got to snap some pretty sweet photos. However, our ultimate goal was to reach the Sistine Chapel. Along the way we saw some interesting paintings and statues by artists like Raphael, da Vinci, and even Dahli! And then we reached it, the Holy Grail (in my opinion) of Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel. I was blown away to say the least. I learned so much about the chapel from my audio guide. It was so incredible to see a second one of Michaelangelo's masterpieces. I was able to sneak a couple of pictures in the chapel... Which is difficult because the security guards are crazy and because its dark. Luckily I got two really good, clear shots.

From the Sistine Chapel we headed to St. Peter's Basilica. We started our tour in the crypt of St. Peter's, which was my favorite part. There are quite a few dead popes, including Pope John Paul II, and even some royalty buried there. The basilica itself was huge and filled with amazing art. Michaelangelo's work was present in the basilica as well, as he was the chief architect of St. Peter's and the exterior dome is his design alone. Nuns were everywhere; I think Kenny said that he had seen more nuns walking around in Vatican City than he had seen in his whole life combined. Now thinking about it, I think the same goes for me. Some nuns in the gift shop even helped us to purchase some blessed rosaries... I have been wearing mine ever since.

Destination IV: Florence, Italy

Sneaky picture of Bottichelli's "The Birth of Venus" kept inside the Ufizi...

Sneaky picture of Michaelangelo's statue "David" kept inside del'Academia...

View from Ponte Vecchio...

Street artists in Florence using chalk to recreate "The Girl with a Pearl Earring"... It was incredible!

View of the Duomo from the Piazza del Duomo...

The garden in the center of Capella dei Principi.

Medical manuscript in the Medici library...

Inside the Medici Library...

Our train arrived at the Florence central train station right around 22:00, and lucky for me there was a pharmacy inside the station... that was open! My toe wasn't really hurting or anything, but I was getting a little tired of my redneck-version band-aid. We headed towards our hotel, and we were a little surprised by how close it was. The hotel was AMAZING! It was on busy little side street right in the heart of Florence. Everything was less than a 10 minute walk away; how convenient! After having our room upgraded, for free, we walked down the street and enjoyed our first gelato! I went for mint and Kenneth chose something fruity... from that point on, we were hooked. We went back to the hotel and went straight to bed. That was probably one of the longest days I have ever experienced... three cities in one day, WOW.

The following morning we woke up and headed to the Medici family library and Basilica of San Lorenzo. I really enjoyed the library. The library houses nearly 11,000 manuscripts and 4,500 books; most of the collection is reserved for scholars though. They had tons of medical manuscripts on display that were super cool. Kenny and I both really enjoyed looking at them. After the library we headed over to the Basilica of San Lorenzo... Most of the important members of the Medici family are buried there, and it is one of the largest churches in Florence. After seeing the church we headed out to the Piazza San Lorenzo and perused the booths for souvenirs. Then we were off to the Duomo... It was sooo big! We got in the humongous line to go up in the tower and enjoyed another delicious gelato, this time it was caramel. After waiting in line for a while and not getting anywhere we decided to forego going up into the tower and to just go inside the church. It was huge inside and fun to look at... Afterwards, we headed to lunch at a place called the Oil Shoppe... (my roommate's boyfriend studies in Florence and recommended it to us.) It was really good; it was kind of like the Florence version of Prague's Bohemia Bagel (my favorite place to eat if I haven't already mentioned that!) It was filled with "local" Americans... I am assuming mainly students. After lunch we went to the Ponte Vecchio. The Ponte Vecchio used to be lined with blacksmiths, but now it is lined with jewelry stores; I basically fell in love with cameos. Too bad I have the most expensive taste ever, and all the ones I liked were in the €200 range. So, after spending the day out walking around and exploring Florence we decided to head back to the hotel. On our way back we made a quick stop and picked up a great bottle of red wine and some lemon Schweppes. My new favorite drink! We were so exhausted that we decided to take a nap... three hours or so later we dragged ourselves out of bed to go and get dinner. We ate at a cute little restaurant on a hidden side street, and that is where the theme of our trip began: Kenny's being jealous of my delicious meal choices. I had lasagna, a delicious salad, and, of course, bread with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Yummy!

The next morning we woke up and got ready to head to del'Academia... we got there around 10:00 and already the line was wrapped around the building. After waiting in line for two and a half hours it was time to go inside and see Michaelangelo's "David". I don't think there are any words in our language that give justification to the wonder that is "David". The statue was very large and very beautiful. We spent quite a while starring in awe and soaking it all in. It is very cool to see something so famous up close and personal. As with most places in Europe, photos were not allowed, but Kenny and I used our secret agent moves to snap a few photos. After del'Academia we had lunch at a nearby pizzeria, and, as usual, it was delicious. From there we headed to the Uffizi, which is Florence's most prestigious art museum. We only had to wait for one hour to get in. I had no clue what paintings made the Uffizi so famous; I was quite delighted when I found out that it housed "The Birth of Venus" by Sandro Botticelli, which is one of my favorite paintings of all time. Yet again, we snapped some secret photos. After enjoying some more gelato, (cookie and stratiachella) we headed back to the hotel to grab our bags and hit the train station. And then there was Rome...

Destination III: Pisa, Italy

Kenny and I in front of the tower...

Practicing my balancing skills in front of the tower...

Kicking it over...

Pushing it over...

Holding it up...

A bridge that we crossed on the way to the tower...

The Field of Miracles: the Duomo, the Baptistry, the Monumental Cemetery and the Leaning Tower...

Kenny and I in front of the tower...

The Leaning Tower of Pisa...

After arriving in Pisa, the first order of business was to find a pharmacy and buy some band-aids. Too bad it was Sunday and nothing was open. I figured I could tough it out with my paper towel for a little longer, so we headed in the direction of the tower. I was blown away when we finally found it. For some reason I didn't expect to lean quite as much as it did. It was pretty fun to look at. I think Kenny and I took just about every kind of silly picture you can with it, and we laughed as we watched Asian men in business suits do the same thing. After we exhausted ourselves and our cameras with massive amounts of photographs we walked around and looked at all the touristy booths. And then, when we couldn't fight the hunger any longer we stopped by a restaurant on our way back to the train station. This was our first experience with real authentic Italian pizza. I think I died and went to heaven. We both ate so much it was hard to move! After we finished our dinner we headed back to the train station and bought our tickets to Florence!