Italy: Our last day in Rome

We hurried from our hotel to the bus, the bus to the marina, the marina to the harbor... on a train..back to our hotel in Rome... and finally to Ancient Rome on our last day in Italy.  Ancient Rome was definitely one of the coolest parts of Italy for me.  Standing in the Colosseum and realizing how old everything is and how much happened there was mind blowing.

In the Roman Forum

the tomb (whats left of it) of Julius Caesar

and finally.. more gelato!

Italy: Capri

After calming down a bit from the excitement in Florence we were on a train again to Naples where we would ferry over to the island of Capri.  Capri is absolutely stunning.  White washed cliffs, blue and jade water, and finally some relaxing from our non stop trip!

Upon arriving we took the bus up from Marina Grande to Anacapri where we were staying.  The island is pretty mellow but Anacapri is a little more relaxed and away from the more crowded Capritown.  We settled into our hotel and decided to check out Monte Solaro, Capri's highest peak.  We rode the chairlift up and wow!  The view was amazing!  And they had the best cappuccino sprinkled with a little cocoa on top :)

The next day we did a boat tour around the island.  The blue, green, and white grotto were all on the agenda.  Now, the blue grotto is a bit of a rip off.  You pay for admission in addition to the boat tour, plus whatever tip your rowboat 'captain' sees fit.  But it is worth it.  The water in the grotto has an electric blue color from light entering through an underwater arch.  Gorgeous!

My friend and 'travel agent' that helped plan our trip told me I must find the shoemaker in Anacapri.  Antonio Viva has been making leather sandals for over 50 years.  As a devout shoe collector, I had to get myself a pair!

Our lovely hotel owner recommended a restaurant down by the blue grotto at sunset.  The view was absolutely amazing.  Chris went for the full lobster this time.  I had linguine with clams.  We both had plenty of limoncello!

Our last day on the island we went down Faro for a dip in the Mediterranean waters.  Capri beaches are not like the beaches out here in Southern California.  Most of the water is lined with rocky cliffs, so we decided to shell out the money for a day at the beach club and lounge on some chairs.  The water was... cold, but so beautiful!

Italy: Florence and Pisa... and a Surprise!

After an exciting first day in Rome we were off bright and early the next morning to Florence.  It took us a bit to find our train but that wasn't nearly as exciting as getting off at the wrong train station and walking around for about 20 minutes before realizing we were in the wrong place.  A 5 minute quickie train ride later we were in Florence.  After settling in to Hotel Globus, a quaint little B&B with free breakfast and happy hour, we started to roam around the city.

I knew the Duomo was on the agenda.  But imagine wandering down a narrow street and turning the corner to see this....!!

The Cathedral di Santa Maria del Fiore is the second longest church in Italy right behind St. Peters Basilica.  There are 463 steps that lead to the very top of the dome.  Unfortunately the line was very long, and not moving at all.  So we decided to continue exploring the city.  

Including more gelato!

Chris came up with the plan to visit the Piazzale Michelangelo and watch the sunset over Florence that night over a couple beers.  Little did I know the other surprise he had....

He proposed!!.... and I said YES! :)

After staying up late with an amazing celebratory dinner and calling our families with the exciting news... we let ourselves sleep in a bit, but then we headed to Pisa!  I had to take 'the picture.'  It was hilarious walking up to the tower and seeing tons of people posing as I am below.  Hilarious!  

Walking up the narrow stairwell that was...leaning was a bit odd.  But we both made it to the top for a beautiful view of Pisa!

Up Next: Capri