Italy in pictures... (and a few words!)

We dreamt of Roman ruins, a sunny break from the icy English winters, pizza, pasta, and gelato, beautiful churches, and vibrant people... and we got it - and so much more! Micah and I spent the first few days of our trip in Rome, then on Christmas day we traveled to the Amalfi Coast. First to a small hill-town called Positano for 2 days, then to the resort town of Sorrento for 3. Finally, we went back to Rome to celebrate New Years (see previous post) before heading back to London.

First stop in Rome? The Colosseum!! It was amazing... so big on the outside, though it seemed smaller on the inside. Amazing that it holds the equivalent amount of people as a major league baseball stadium! I must admit, I am thankful that entertainment for the masses is much more civilized these days than it was in the days of the gladiators!
Below is the Roman Forum, ancient Rome's birthplace and civic center. The photos were taken form Palentine Hill (where we get our word palace), which contains remains of imperial palaces and the foundations of Rome.

This is a city in which stories from the New Testament come alive... read about Peter, then go to San Pietro in Vincoli (St Peter-in-Chains Church) which claims to have the chains that held Peter in prison. Also on display is Michelangelo's Moses.

We also went in the Mamertine Prison, a 2,500 year-old, cistern-like prison, to which prisons were lowered a whole in the roof. This is where Peter was said to have been held... an upside-down cross on the stone commemorates Peter's upside-down crucifixion.

Next stop? The Pantheon - with Rome's largest dome until Michelangelo's dome at St. Peter's Basilica. The columns in the front are magnificent, but the inside is truly amazing. Micah and I are always drawn to the serenity of water, so admiring the many bridges over the Tiber River was refreshing. It also offered us our first view of the Vatican! However, we saved that for the end of our trip, and instead, continued exploring Rome's historical center.

We walked through many piazzas (squares or gathering spots - great for markets!), and had hoped that at Piazza Navona we'd find a great Christmas market. Instead it turned out to be more of a kids carnival, but it was an experience none-the-less.

Here we are at the Trevi Fountain. Rome has fountains in almost every piazza (taking full advantage of the abundance of water brought in my ancient aqueducts!). They are beautiful fountains, with the most infamous designed during the baroque period. This one in particular is a lively one, with loads of people hanging around and tossing in coins while their picture is taken. It is said that if you toss a coin over your shoulder, it will give you your wish and assure your return to Rome. So, when in Rome... of course, we both did it!The biggest, richest, most impressive church on earth: St. Peter's Basilica

View from the front steps of the church, looking out into the square. Inside... beneath the tall square alter is where Peter is buried.
The statue below is Michelangelo's Pieta. A Pieta is a work showing Mary with the dead body of Christ taken down from the cross.
On Christmas Eve, Micah and I enjoyed going to the American Catholic Church, called Santa Susanna. We joined in a Christmas Carol Service and Christmas Eve mass. It was a fantastic experience and was a relief to hear English speakers!

Christmas Day: We rode a train from Rome to Naples, where we switched to a smaller subway-type train to Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast, then took a taxi to Positano - our favorite part of the trip!Positano is a hill town - literally houses are build on the sides of the mountain cliffs. It doesn't have a proper town square, therefore, the beach is the gathering place and center of the town.

After checking into our hotel, we walked down to the beach and were followed by this 4-legged friend!

He was a cute little bugger and stuck with us for a few hours, following us, craving attention, and even sitting in Micah's shadow to find some rest. Even when we went into this restaurant (see photo below) for our Christmas dinner (pizza!!), he followed us. In fact, that was when he ditched us. I guess he got a few more handouts from the few other tourist-customers than he expected to get from us! We enjoyed his company for the afternoon though... he reminded us of Samson.View from our hotel balcony...

Its hard not to love a quiet town like this, unless of course you don't have a good pair of walking shoes with you! We went up and down thousands of stairs, but it was worth the view - both from the top and the bottom!

We took the city bus back to Sorrento a couple of days later. Our hotel was a bit out of the city center, which made for a lot more walking that we'd bargained for, but at least the views were beautiful!
Downtown Sorrento at night...

We decided to take a few day trips while we were in Sorrento. Our first task? Climb Mt. Vesuvius. You may have heard of it... In A.D. 79 it erupted, spitting lava and mud for miles, and ash even further. Pompeii was covered by its ashes and is now one of the best preserved ancient Roman towns. We could see the mountain hoovering in the distance across Napoli bay from Sorrento... tempting us to hike it!

We took the challenge! We met another American couple (from South Carolina) who took the challenge as well. It was great fun to chat with them about their travels and life back in the states. Micah and I even had a bit of a snowball fight with the remaining snow up near the top of the crater (actually, my hands were too cold to make and throw snowballs, so I let Micah pelt me with a few!).



We also took an afternoon ferry trip to the Isle of Capri... probably best to visit there in the summer as it is best suited for swimming and boating, but we enjoyed a visit... hiking up to the top of the city center (rather than taknig the gondolo like most tourists!), eating gellato, drinking cappaccinos, and enjoying the view: Our favorite part in Sorrento was the citrus orchard park... hundreds of lemon and orange trees crammed into this public park, sweet smelling and fresh. It was a haven from the streets and shops!

Back to Rome for New Years... our only task: to get into the Vatican Museum and to see the Sistine Chapel.

And we did... eventually. This photo is of us after having waited 2 1/2 hours to get in... it took a FULL 3 before we finally made it to the enterance. It was undeniably the longest I've ever waited in a queue. The throngs of people...

But just as the stairs in Positano were worth the effort, this was worth the wait...

After statues upon statues (including the bust of Julius Cesear!),

And painting after painting, fresco, after fresco (a fresco is a special technique where the paint is actually mixed with plaster so that when it is applied it becomes part of the wall (rather than painted on a canvas). This is one of Rafael's frescos...

We eventually made it to the Sistine Chapel - Michelanglo's masterpiece. From the story of creation, to the fall of man, glimpses of Christ's work on earth, and the last judgement - it is amazing. We craned our necks till we couldn't look anymore, then slipped toward the back of the church where hundreds of cameras were sneakily slipped out and used. As the guards up front yelled, "No photos!!" we snapped a shop of ourselves - just to prove (like all the other tourists) that we really were there. And we lived to tell about it.

Final stop? Giolitti's Gelateria... I can't get enough of that Italian ice cream. However, we'd prefer not to have pizza or pasta for about a month - we'd eaten more of it in 10 days than we care to admit! It was a fantastic trip altogether. Thank you, Micah, for giving me such wonderful Christmas memories this year!