In Rome...

So last night we walked thru the Forum to the Coliseum, and then stopped at the grocery store on the way back for some cheap food. Everything has been so expensive so it was nice to get a lot for what we paid compared to everything else.

This morning we walked to the Spanish Steps and then the Trevi Fountain, and then had some really good gelatto....mmmmm....yum!

There are so many people here...it's Wednesday now and we're here until Saturday, I could easily see taking the train to Florence or somewhere (anywhere) on Friday just to get away from all the people!

My family got here today and after they arrived Matt (my brother), Inger (my sister). We walked over to the Coliseum again so they could get some air and walk a bit after their flight. Had some yummy coffee...I swear it doesn't matter where you go, the coffee is good. And it doesn't give me the jitters like it does at home. Must be all the walking or something.

It's hot here, nice and warm and sunny...

some more...

These were the stairs to our room in Vernazza...
there really are that many.

Pictures....

Hopefully this will work! the formatting sucks but such is life. the hillsides look like the one here in the picture, we had breakfast underneath the yellow umbrellas...the best coffee! this was the village-town we stayed in and you can see the view down the coast.

Ciao from Rome...

We've just arrived in Rome a few hours ago, it is SO crowded here! The people everywhere are a bit overwhelming. Seems like lots of student tours, too. The train here from Cinque Terre was interesting...there weren't any seats left so we got to sit on those little fold down seats. Always fun. It's so nice and warm here, there is wisteria blooming everywhere and it is so fragrant and beautiful.

Cinque Terre was really nice, but I had no idea how seriously the Italians take their holidays. We arrived there late Sunday afternoon and there had to be hundreds of people waiting to get on the train that we came in on. (It runs between the 5 towns). We hiked from Vernazza to Monterosso Monday and luckily we started early because towards Monterosso we were stopping more and more to let people pass as the trail was really narrow in spots. It was really pretty though, lots of cactuses (cacti?) everywhere, succulent plants, I'm going to try to bring some home, we'll see if they make it. But the people everywhere was a bit too much.

We got into Rome earlier and went to our hotel, it will be so nice to have a bathroom connected to our room! I'm not so sure about this budget travel thing anymore...and we'll be here for 4 nights, yeah! I think we'll have to do some laundry in the bathroom sink.

Turns out my family won't be coming in until tomorrow, apparently there was no pilot for their first flight from Seattle to DC so instead they are flying today from Seattle to Portland, Portland to Frankfurt, and then Frankfurt to Rome. I am so glad I am not on that trip!

Going to attempt to upload some pictures here in a minute, we'll see how that goes!

If anyone is reading this and I have sent you picture messages from my cell phone, feel free to write back! ;-)

The Blue Grotto

We'll be staying in Sorrento for several nights and visiting the Island of Capri while we're there. I'd really like to see the "Blue Grotto". This is what the outside of it looks like but you can go inside the caves there and at the right time of day, the sunshine reflects on the water and the cave walls and has an amazing blue color like what you see below. I've heard it's gotten more and more touristry, so we may not visit it, but if possible I would love to see this in person.

Vernazza

So we'll be arriving in Rome on Easter Sunday, in the morning. Although I'm not really a practicing Catholic anymore, it would be pretty amazing to go to Mass at the Vatican on Easter Sunday. However, given that most likely I will be tired, cranky, and in need of a shower, we're headed out to Cinque Terre on the train (by way of as many cappucinos as possible of course).

We'll be staying at "Egi's Rooms" just off the Harbor (I'm guessing behind the darker red building in this picture, behind the umbrellas) in Vernazza, right in the middle of the 5 villages (Cinque Terre = the 5 lands or villages). I'm also planning on having breakfast underneath those same umbrellas - providing the weather is nice enough, we'll be sitting there come Monday morning with a cappucino and whatever we happen to find to eat!

"And along the coastline there are five castles, at nearly the same distance one from the other: 'Rubra, Vulnetia, Cornelia, Manium Arula, Rivus Maiorche which now are commonly called Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore not only known in Italy but also the Welsh and British praise them for their wine's nobility. Note worthy to see like a spectacle, the mountains not only in sweet incline but also quick so that even the birds flying over tire. Covered with stones that don't hold back water, vineyards cover the land, so meagre and delicate that seem more like ivy than vines. From here comes wine for the table from a King".G. Bracelli, "De bello hispaniensi orae ligusticae descriptio", 1448

There's a path that goes between all of the villages that we plan to hike on Monday. Our view will look something like this one.

Getting ready to go...

So just 5 days left until we take off, I am so excited! Not really sure how I feel about a family vacation...it's not the family so much as we haven't really all spent this much time together as a group in I don't know how long. But it should be fun.

We'll be visiting Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy, Rome, and Sorrento, Naples and the Amalfi coast - hopefully we'll get to see the Blue Grotto!

In Rome we'll be staying at the Albergo del Senato Hotel near the Pantheon. Check it out at http://www.albergodelsenato.it/index.html. In Sorrento we'll be staying at the Hotel Tramontano (http://www.hoteltramontano.it/).