Italy! Day 8. Most unique hotel check in drill

Today we arose to bid farewell to Roma. Off we go to Florence, stumbling, bumbling, and dragging the compliment of luggage up the street to the train station. A few of us walked, the others managed to squeeze on the bus. -- weenies. :D. The train was very nice. This time managed the city to city transfer without incident or drama. Sorry no interesting stories to tell there. 

THEN, our experience to get into our next set of accommodations. This baggage drill was like no other. Threading ourselves and multiple roller bags down the 2' sidewalks from the train station, full of people, it was a fairly short jaunt to what one would assume is the hotel. Lugged the bags and gear up to the 2nd floor ( what we we call 3rd floor) to the hotel lobby. There was an elevator ... If you packed in there just right, could fit maybe 4 people. Turns out, only one room out of 6 was to be in this building. Yup... Lugged all the luggage back down the multiple levels to the street, dashed across between cars etc, entered a different building, now up 5 sets of stairs ( floor 4 here). There is an elevator that could fit oh, about 2 people.  We have all the hotel rooms on this floor. (Big place) The bonus is there is a washing machine. There was quite the rush to use it. :D

After the mad dash to get clothes in the washer, off we go for the next very important task.. Food and libations. Of course, lots of shopping opportunities. 

Judit, our guide took us on a city walking tour of Florence.  Very differ from Roma. Quieter and more of a renaissance feel in the architecture.   The Duomo, statues, and lots of old stuff...

This is a copy, we see the real David tomorrow.

A bit of newer more contemporary art... Sometimes strange things come out of artists minds...

No enter street sign... Hilarious

Judit took us to a for real wine bar....self serve! What is not to like!! The off to dinner. The food was awesome and we had a blast. Chaos reigned through the whole dinning experience. 

Duomo at night.  In the morning, we climb the bell tower! 

Every day is an adventure!

Tomorrow more of Florence!!  Picnic on the hill at sunset. A little sandwich, a little wine, and lots of fun. 

Ciao

Italy! Day 7. The feet have stopped barking... For the moment

Our intention today was to wander a bit and sit more.  The ratio of late has been way more feet time and much less butt time.  But then, walking is great exercise... Especially since we are averaging 6-10 miles over the course of the day.  At least that is what my pedometer is telling us...

We set off this morning for the Spanish steps... This time to scale this famous stairway. It is 9 sets of 12 steps plus 3 at the base...111 steps. Piece of cake after Cinque Terra. The views were really cool. We could see much of the city from the top if this hill. Must be one of the 7 hills...  

Yup, you guessed it... The dome church is St. Peter's and the large building to the right is the Vatican. These Catholics do not doing anything small here.... They apparently need to worship a lot ... There are over 3000 churches just here in Rome, and they are huge!

Following the edge of the hill and cool view, led us to a humongous park. Very beautiful. Parakeets, homeless people, young lovers, bicycle rentals, boats, trees, cafés, and even a toilette. The challenge was to find the latter.... Too many coffee drinkers...  :)

We split up and my contingent set out to find BJ's DMC office and the Hard Rock Cafe. The plus is, the cafe has a nice toilette.  Bonus.  We all, via cab, met in the campo de fioro for food and beverage. 

Note the limoncello -- very Italian. 

We shopped and shot (with a camera) our way back to the hotel. Somewhat costly little walk... :). we now have some treasures to bring home.  

Tonight dinner on the other side of the river. It was really fun to walk along the river. There is a festival that runs for about half the year. 

Our paths brought us to walk by monumento to victor Emanuel about 3 times through the course of the day today.  That may be part of the reason our feet are talking to us and the pedometer was over 10 miles ... Happy happy!!

Tonight we pack for in the morning we catch the train to Florence !!  

Ciao

Italy day 6 Rome!

Put on your walking shoes, here we go for our almost 10 hour tour!  Brenda arranged through her DMC a private tour for just our group. Worth every penny!  Readers of the blog who have attended the Minnesota state fair, think of the crowds, double it and add in several more languages. Although, there area a few dialects in our fair state....

The private group tour successfully got us to the front of few lines. Sure beat standing in a queue for hours.  Shuffled our way, literally, through the Vatican museum, Sistine chapel, and St. Peter's basilica. Absolutely amazing. 

 

 

Diana, goddess of the hunt.  This is for you DVD!

A moments rest, libations and sustainance  then off to the coliseum! 

It was really cool to be able to tour not only the 1st and street levels, but to be able to get down to the lower levels where they keep the animals and gladiators. I thought that was the coolest until we went up to the 3rd level. Amazing views!! 

Just when we thought our feet could take us no father, continued on to the roman forum.  Basically ruins dating back 2000 years. Pretty interesting.

We decided to pack it in early.... Be in our room by 9:00 as opposed to 11. :). A few of us went to an Irish bar... The only items on the menu that were Irish was a couple of the beers.  

Tomorrow, our last day in Rome then on to Florence !!

Ciao 

Italy! Day 5. Mr Toad's wide ride

IToday we arose early and said goodbye to Manarola and Cinque Terra. Rolled and hauled our whole compliment of luggage up the hill, down the long tunnel and up the steps to the train platform. ( there are no lifts.. Elevators ).  We had an ample connection time in La Spezia ... 15 minutes. Which would have been fine but the first leg of our journey train was 17 minutes late. 

What a rush!  We bolted from one train, hauled ass and luggage down one set of steps and up another just in time to jump on our connecting train. All the while our ever vigilant tour guide,Zara, busted a team of pickpocketers from absconding with some of our possessions as we struggled with ourselves and luggage to board the train.  It was what appeared to be a mother and child who slid in and a 3rd person who trailed behind. Zara was worth every penny as she successfully thwarted the ruse. 

A leisurely 4 hour train ride to Roma. That is after we finally ejected people from our seats. Thank you Zara!  Upon arrival we were handed off to a new guide, Judit.  Now we had the delight to cram onto a city bus, yes with all our luggage, and off to our new hotel.  This has to be the most compact accommodations in my limited travel experience.  :). Second floor of a couple hundred year old building with a total of about 10 rooms. Ah, Roma!!

Oh this blog cannot be finalized without mentioning our foray into the world of riding the public busses.. With and without luggage. There is no opportunity to maintain your personal space..whatsoever. I do not get that close and personal with Brenda.... Did I mention the personal hygiene or lack thereof...in the heat...and humidity.... 

We were thrilled to be meet with 3 more travel companions who flew intoday to join us 

We had about 15 minutes to settle in when off we go for a bit of a walking tour. Only 4 miles based on my pedometer. The location of our hotel is very close to many landmarks. Yeah!

Pantheon    Very old. 

What a crew!

Gelato... What is not to like!

Tomorrow, the Vatican and colosseum!

Ciao 

Italy! Day 4

If you have ever traveled to Mexico, no doubt you are familiar with "Mexican time". This is not unique in the world.  Now we all are convinced this condition also exists in Italy. The train schedule appears to be a guideline ....  People watching is quite entertaining to while away the time.  The train is the best way to navigate from town to town in Cinque Terra. 

Another mode of transportation: hiking!!!!  If you remember reading in an earlier blog, there are only 2 directions in this part of the world, up or down. The trails are no exception. As a result of the floods and landslides in 2011, only 1 of the 4 trails between the 5 villages is open. Did we hike it? Absolutely!! Our day began by taking the train to vernazza. Began our ascent to spectacular views of Vernzza and Manterosso. Felt great to sweat a bit. 

Yup, that little spec down the shoreline is Vernazza. 

Monterosso

Our first stop, a bar for libations, sustanance, and banos (bathroom). Life is good! 

Trained back to Vernazza, had to shop a bit, drink a bit, and relax people watching. A George Clooney look a like ran yummy beers to us. What is not to like!?!!

Our last evening was spent in Manarola, drinks on the side of the cliff overlooking the village, dinner and packing.

Tomorrow ROME!  And 3 more travel pals to join us. 

Ciao

Italy! Day 3

Cinque Terra - the five lands.  This is the literal interpretation. It is absolutely mind boggling how people came into this severely pitched coastal land and built their villages, farmed the land, and continue to live their daily lives. Multiple level dwellings literally chiseled into the striated volcanic rock. Terraces carved into the hills as they ascend from the water to the sky. A multitude of agricultural crops spring up from the multiple levels. 

Not many people own cars... No streets for the most part, let alone some where to park it... :D.  We all learned quite quickly that If the passageway is 6' wide or (less likely) wider, it is a street used by cars and trucks... 2 way streets!!  Downhill seems to have the right-a-way. Kind of like Duluth in winter.   :)

Our travel group.. So far

Today's adventure began in the southern most of cinque terra, Riomaggiore.  A portion of the village is behind us.  Again, the seas did not cooperate and our boating tour was cancelled. Not to be defeated from a boat ride and swim, our most excellent tour guide, Zara, found someone who would take us out  on the water. .. In the bay of Porte Venere. This took us to La Spezia, a bustling city for lunch and off to the coast. We had some time to explore ( nearly 45 minutes) before the 6:00 boat adventure.  My how time flies ....

It was a cacaphony of laughter and glee and we all had the chance to get in and swim!! Look! Even choreography !!

At this point, would insert a picture of the 8' to 12' swells when we went out of the bay, but was either hanging on for dear life or either got all boat or only air in the shot...  

Tomorrow off to explore more of the Cinque Terra!!!

Ciao

Italy! Days 1 & 2

It was quite the journey, we arrived to our first destination no worse for the wear. Just a bit sleep deprived.  My first attempt for your reading enjoyment went to the wrong blog... My apologies. That can happen when one is sleep deprived and have no idea there would be more than one blog to which your post would go... 

We have let no grass grow under our feet. :).  It has been non stop exploring and new experiences. Cinque terra is a group of 5 villages chiseled into the harshly steep rocky northern coast of Italy right on the Mediterranean Sea. The roads into these villages did not exist until a few decades ago. The two way thoroughfares are barely wide enough for one car. It is really best to just watch the scenery go by....   :).   The closest our airport transfer could get us was a couple hundred yards from our hotel entrance. A couple of ramps( which is really a street) and steps, we arrived in Manarola! and Hotel Marina Piccola!!

We have a beautiful view of the sea from our hotel window! 

The first order of business was, yup, of course an adult beverage and food.  We met out tour guide, Zara. She is going to have her hands full with this crew.... :D

You know you are in Italy when is takes longer to get and pay your bill than to eat...

Day 2    You know the expression, hit the ground running... Today was no exception. :D

We suited up with all our necessities for a 5 hour boat ride out of Monterosso (which required figuring out the public transportation systems...)   Well, even with the best laid plans, it is not a bad idea to have a "plan B". Our boat tour captain cancelled due to rough water. Rescheduled to an evening sunset cruise... And cancelled again.  Meanwhile, we trained it back to Manarola to ditch swimming gear and change to hiking shoes. With Zara in the lead, we caught the city bus up the hill and set out on our first hike. 

See the little outcropping on the shore... That is our destination, Corniglia. 2 hours later, we found the most refreshing mojitos! 

The views from up "the hill" were breathtaking!

Manarola

We learned there are only 2 directions to go... Up or down.  :D

The train is by far the easiest way to traverse from one village to another. :). Thank goodness for a 3 day rail/bus pass!!   It was back to Monterosso for dinner and grappa & lemoncello tasting. YUM!  Another 11 p.m. evening. We will adjust to this time zone and leisurely dinning yet...

Stay tuned for more adventures!