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It's hard to believe that 2010 is almost over, and that we are already approaching the half way point through November. In just 2 short weeks we'll be doing the final walk thru of the house. Rob and I have been busy preparing for (and buying) everything that comes with building a new house...we joke that we might as well just move into Home Depot, because we are always there it seems like. You can probably find us at Home Depot (or Lowes) at least 3-4 times per week. We've made quite a bit of progress on our "to do" list for the house, purchasing our new fridge, garage door opener, blinds, etc... We still have quite a bit more to do, but every week we make progress.
Below is a photo (taken with my iPhone) of the latest progress...as you can see, we're almost there. This was taken last Thursday, Nov 4th. They were installing our hardwood flooring that day - we got a sneak peek inside and we liked what we saw! Since then they've seeded our lawn (a nice surprise!) and will hopefully finish the porch by the end of this week.
We're so excited to get inside and call this our home. My Mom will be coming up from NC the afternoon of our final walk thru to help us paint. She'll be staying with us through Thanksgiving to make the most out of her visit. I'm excited to have her here with us since she has a great eye for interior design. Like me, she too is obsessed with HGTV : )
We've come to the final leg of our Italy recap, but we've saved the best for last...Rome!
Day 8 - Road Trip to Rome
If you've been reading our Italy recap, I'm sure you aren't surprised to hear that this morning was another early wake up call for us. (I think most days on the trip we woke up before 7am - some days before 6am). We met in the lobby of our hotel in Florence and loaded our 40-person tour group onto the motor coach...today we're headed to Rome! The drive from Florence to Rome is a little over 4 hours; therefore, to ease the drive time we stopped in a little town called Orvieto. Orvieto is a medieval town that actually sits on top of a volcanic mountain. We broke off into smaller groups and explored the city. Rob and I decided to have lunch at a local Italian eatery where our waiter spoke ZERO English! It was actually quite fun to try to communicate with him as we ordered our meals. We ended up fairing pretty well. After lunch and another quick postcard stop (I purchased a postcard in every city we went to), we got back on the bus and made the final drive into Rome.
We arrived in Rome just before rush hour, checked into our hotel, and then went to dinner. This was no ordinary dinner though. Of course the food was Italian, but our view from our dinner table was extraordinary, spectacular, amazing, and just plain awesome! Can you guess where we dined right across the street from? I'll give you a hint...it's nearly 2000 years old and STILL standing. Yep, that's right...the Colosseum. In the middle of dinner Rob ran across the street to take a few quick photos of this amazing sight while the lighting was still good (photos below). After dinner we didn't have much time to explore the Colosseum since we have a guided tour scheduled tomorrow morning, but we do take a few minutes to marvel at it's beauty. While standing outside the restaurant, we see where the Gladiators used to work out before their battles...I'm in total awe since "Gladiator" is one of my all-time favorite movies. Following dinner, we head back to our hotel on our motor coach. Rome is much too large to explore all on foot, so traveling by bus is pretty much essential when traveling from one side of the city to the other. Upon arrival back at our hotel, we decide that we're not quite tired enough to go to bed, so why not take a walk through the streets at night...when in Rome, right?! So, Rob, Patty (mother-in-law) and I go walking through the streets of Rome. We stumble upon a few statues and monuments (3rd photo below), but then in our quest for something cold to drink, we end up slightly lost (Rob still ensures us that he knows where we are at this point). We end up "off the beaten path" for a few blocks, but then we find a familiar landmark and then realize where we are. I have to admit, I was a little nervous while we were wandering the streets and alley ways, but we made it safely back to our hotel. We're ready for bed now, and excited to tour more of Rome in the morning!
This morning we took a group tour to the Colosseum. I know I said this yesterday, but it's absolutely amazing to see something 2000 years old that is still standing. Here in the U.S., we think a building is old if it's been standing for 100 years. Over in Italy (or any part of Europe for that matter), "old" takes on a whole new meaning. We get to go inside the Colosseum and learn about the Gladiator battles and what life was like in Rome in 80 AD. We stand where the Emperor once stood, and it's amazing how small the Colosseum seems from his vantage point. I get chills just being inside. This is by far my favorite part of the trip so far! We continue our tour of Ancient Rome and visit the Roman Forum next (3rd photo below). After we learn about the Roman Forum, we branch off into smaller groups and explore Rome on foot. We stop for lunch, and then head to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. We took part in the famous ritual of throwing a coin over our shoulders at the Trevi Fountain in hopes we would return to Rome again one day! In keeping with our theme of "popular things to do in Rome", we decided walking up the Spanish Steps (all 138 of them) would only be proper of us. At this point in the day, we're all exhausted and our feet are beginning to hurt (remember what I said about Rome being too big to explore all on foot?! Yeah, we didn't learn that until after our afternoon excursion), so we decide to head back to our hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. On our way back to our hotel we pass by the Capitol Building (4th photo below), make a few quick shopping stops, and I think there may have been a stop for gelato too :) We ate dinner outside at a little Irish pub where we listened to a man play his accordion for us. Quite ironic considering we were eating at an Irish pub (most of us had burgers), drinking wine and listening to Italian music. No one cared though. We're in Rome having the time of our lives!
Day 10 - Exploring the Vatican
We wake up early this morning to prepare ourselves for a long day ahead. This morning we are headed to the Vatican! Naturally, we took our motor coach since the Vatican is outside of Rome. What is so interesting about the Vatican is that it is it's own little city and state completely separate from Rome. Upon arrival we see that the Vatican is surrounded by extremely high walls and lots of security. The line to get inside is extremely long...we are told it can be hours and hours, but luckily we are with a tour group so we skip the lines and head right inside. First stop in the Vatican is the Vatican Museum, followed by the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately, no cameras (or talking!) are allowed inside of the Sistine Chapel, but what a sight to see...it was memorizing! You can't help but feel overwhelmed with amazement when inside of such an amazing piece of history. After the Sistine Chapel, we head to St. Peter's Basilica...another amazing site. Being a wedding planner, I can't help but imagine what a wedding would look like inside the Basilica. St. Peter's Basilica is the largest Christian church in the world holding upwards of 60,000 people! I kept walking around inside the church in pure amazement and awe. I was raised Catholic, so this was a special part of the trip for me. Pictures were hard to come by inside since the lighting was so dim, so we didn't capture much inside other than what we have by memory. Below are a few pictures that Rob took outside of St. Peter's. Following our tour of the Vatican, we stopped inside the official Vatican souvenir shop and picked up a few items for our family back home. I purchased a rosary for my Mom and a cross for my Dad, and then had them blessed by the clergy of St. Peter's. Just before we left the walls of the Vatican, we heard the bells ringing - very cool!!
After some R&R back at our hotel, we were ready to head out for more sightseeing in Rome. Later that evening, we took the Subway to the Trevi Fountain where we had dinner at a local Italian restaurant (4th photo below). Following dinner we stopped at the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps again (completely different atmosphere at night!), hopped back on the Subway and took it across town to the Colosseum. WOW! There really aren't words to describe the Colosseum at night...it's awesome! Chills and goosebumps kind of awesome!! It was a late night walking around Rome, but this time we managed to stay on track and didn't get lost! ;) Another amazing day in Rome!
Day 11 - Pompeii
Our last full day in Italy. I can't believe our trip is coming to an end, but we have one more journey ahead of us today...Pompeii. We make the 3 hour drive to Pompeii (we pass through Naples) and get to see some of the Italian coastline along the way. I took a course in college all about Pompeii, so I was very excited to see it in person (I'm somewhat of a history buff)! We take a 1 1/2 hour tour of Pompeii learning about life in Pompeii and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that buried and destroyed the city in 79 AD. Pompeii was very neat to see, but we wish we would have been able to stay longer. After lunch in Naples, we made the drive back to Rome. Once we get back to our hotel in Rome, we take our tour guide up on her restaurant recommendation...Chinese. I was a bit skeptical at first, but so happy we went! The food was delicious!! I'd even venture to say that was my favorite Chinese restaurant I've been to, and of all places it was in Rome! On our way back to our hotel we stop for gelato one last time and say goodbye to Rome. We're sad to be leaving in the morning, but we are leaving with SO many wonderful memories that are going to last us a lifetime!
Day 12 - Arrivederci Rome!
Early flight this morning...we say goodbye to our fellow travelers and our family and friends and then head to the airport. Luckily our route passed by many of our previously visited tourist attractions, so it was nice to seem them one last time. I remember watching the Colosseum fade into the distance, and at that moment I realized it was truly time to leave. We get to the airport, check our bags and board our 10 hour flight back to the U.S. After a few delays getting off the ground in Rome, we make it to Washington D.C. 10+ hours and a few time zone changes later. Since our flight was delayed out of Rome, Rob and I had to run (more like sprint!) through the D.C. airport to make it to our flight to Pittsburgh. Luckily we made it with just a minute to spare! A quick 45 minute flight later, and we're home in Pittsburgh. Glad to be home safely!
I've said this before, but Italy was truly a trip of a lifetime! Thank you to Patty, our wonderful mother/mother-in-law who made this trip possible! We love you, and can't thank you enough for a wonderful experience!!!
One final Italy post will follow later this week with some personal photos and final thoughts on our trip!
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