Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Italy

Thoughts about my Italian vacation have already found their way into my travel journal and I have not yet decided which stories to share here, if any.

However, I would like to share a select spattering of pictures that, taken as a whole, reflect the essence of my 17 day holiday in Italy.



Once I settle in I will write a good and proper post.

18 comments:

LadrĂ³n de Basura (a.k.a. Junk Thief) said...

Wonderful pictures! Is it wrong of me to say the sea of Pinocchios is my favorite?

Joy Keaton said...

I'm with Gregg. Love the little wooden boy!

Barbara said...

It made me remember so much of our trip to Italy last summer. I could almost taste that cheese and see those sunflowers with the beautiful blue sky. Our rental house was just a short bus ride up the coast from Amalfi. You have a lifetime of memories I'm sure. You could do a unit on Italy with your kids and make pizza at school! :)

Welcome back to reality!

Reya Mellicker said...

Excellent pics! I love all those patios and second floor porches, festooned with greenery, all over Rome. Where did you stay?

Did you know that the water from the Trevi Fountain goes through an underground aquifer, then resurfaces in the Piazza Navonna? I thought that was cool.

Campo di Fiori is where I stayed when I was there a few years ago. Love that square. LOVE Rome.

Love you more!

RG said...

I'm so jealous. If I had friends who owned a farm house like the one pictured - I would never leave. Seriously - they'd have to go to court to get me out! LOL

I'm glad you had a great time! My housemates are leaving on a cruise to Italy in two days - that'll be MY vacation as well!

Steve Reed said...

Terrific shots! I loved Italy when I went. Your Rome pictures remind me of everything I saw, and I never made it to the Amalfi Coast, so those were ESPECIALLY intriguing. Next time!

Gary said...

Gregg and Joy - I was totally enamoured with all of the Pinocchio stuff (magnets, springy toys, puppets, ornaments, openers, toys, etc.) I must have about 25 picutres of all them in their various incarnations - including me sitting with a life sized Pinocchio outside of the puppet makers shop in Rome.

Barbara - I never realized what a hot spot Italy was until I took this trip. I never viewed Italy as a destination before because on my first trip to Europe (where I backpacked through 17 countries) Italy was a necessity to get to Greece, not a destination unto itself.

This summer I had so many friends traveling to Italy and as per the blog comments I see that so many others have already gone and loved it. My eyes are fully open...

Reya - I did not know that, how interesting.

I stayed in the Campo di Fiori area as well. Perfect location as I was able to walk to The Vatican (in one direction) and the Colosseum (in the other). That area is wonderful. So close to the Pantheon and Piazza Novanna. I met my friend Marco there - he is Italian but lives in NY now - and he told me that he proposed to his wife under the statue in Campo di Fiori. I love those tidbits of information.

RG - Consider Ashley & Jason your friends as well (btw, I paid for my room since it is their business and all).

Enjoy your 'vacation' as well but don't get into any trouble.

Steve - Amalfi is beautiful but honestly I can do without the winding, narrow, clifftop roads cause they did a number on me with motion sickness. After a bus ride I felt horrible and it took a bit to come back to my senses. Still...the beauty is stunning.

Barbara said...

I had forgotten about the bus rides. Did you ride the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi by any chance? It's enough to make even the strongest stomach feel queasy.

BTW, we got lost hiking in those hills high above that very stretch of road. I have memories of looking down and seeing those miniature buses go around the curves and wondering if I would ever find my way down off the mountain. Obviously we survived (thanks to an Italian farmer)!

Gary said...

Barbara,

I was able to avoid the bus ride at first because I took a ferry from Salerno to Amalfi. However, the bus rides were waiting...

I took a bus from Amalfi to Pompeii which is in the direction of Salerno and then when I left Amalfi I took the bus to Sorrento (the ferry was not running due to choppy seas - which I would have preferred).

I did not do any hiking but I heard about the trails up there, especially in Postino. Kudos to you for venturing off into them ther hills.

Barbara said...

About 10 minutes north of Amalfi as you headed toward Sorrento, your bus rolled through Praiano, the little town where we stayed. We were about 500 steps UP from the town. We could never have survived without all those bus rides, but I must admit I was white-knuckled a lot of the way, especially on the hairpin curves. Those drivers really do a terrific job with very few accidents.

WAT said...

Mama mia! Where do I begin?! These are way cool pics. I have been to Italy many times, while asleep of course! Oh what an awesome vacation!

ROME IN RUINS! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! What happened?! Why didn't this make the news?! Hey, that body lying there in Pompeii looked really cool/creepy.

Damn boy, glad u came back safe and all!

Sebastien Millon said...

Wonderful pictures, love all those mini-pinocchios!!!

Sebastien Millon said...

And looking forward to hearing more about the trip :)

Arielle Lee Bair said...

So amazing! I love the photos. It's always hard to know which stories to share, isn't it? But you know what... a picture is worth a thousand words... so a bunch of pictures are a kind of story!

Thanks for sharing!
-Arielle

lettuce said...

fabulous
i love the pinocchio picture too

Mikey T said...

God, this makes my heart ache a little. Italy is so beautiful, and I can't wait for the opportunity to experience it as an adult. So happy for you that you got to go on this trip. Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos

Aileen said...

Oh my God! I was just there! Rome, Sorrento, Amalfi coast...

Amazingly gorgeous, no??? :)

mouse (aka kimy) said...

wow, wow, wow....how wonderful!!

thanks for sharing and allowing us to hitch a ride.

yeah, I know I'm terribly behind in the bloggyhood, but maybe now that it's (almost) fall I'll start getting back into the groove!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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