Italy - Part I ROME

It has been a beautiful spring in Williamsburg, and before time really gets away from us, we did want to post some highlights about our Spring Break trip to Italy. We flew to Italy, primarily to visit Chuck (Brian's dad) in Florence. It was Brian's first trip to the Italy, so we also spent some time in Rome and Venice.

We had problems getting to Rome, but we finally arrived a day later than planned. Being the flexible folks that we are, we just decided to visit Rome for the first day instead of the last. Brian was mainly interested in "Caesar history," so that is where we focused. We arrived late in the afternoon, but didn't waste any time...we visited the Colosseum, and then saw the Forum from the road. After the long day(s) of travel, it was nice to get out and stretch our legs, so we walked to the Pantheon. Since dinner is truly an evening affair, we sat down and watched the crowds of people enjoying our first gelato of the trip.

The Italians (and their visitors) are shoppers! The shops were alive at night, so we just followed the flow of people and ended up at the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain and did a few laps around Rome before we called it a night.

Definitely a great first day in Italy.The next day we planned to catch a train to Florence to visit Dad/father-in-law/Florence guru. In order to catch a train to Florence, we had to leave Rome around 1:00PM. We considered visiting the Vatican, but the line was hours long at 8AM. (One of the only times that spring break traffic was apparent to us.) So instead, we spent over two hours exploring St. Peters.

We visited Pope John Paul II's tomb, which really touched Sarah. We explored the main portion of the church at a leisurely pace and admired Michelangelo's Pieta. We climbed the duomo and had a great view of all of Rome.

Lunch was one of the major reasons we love Italy. A cut out of a place, only 10' by 10', serving hot fresh pizza by the ounce. mmmmmmmmm!

The train ride was relaxing, the country side was absolutely beautiful. We played a few games of cribbage (and I believe I double skunked him =), plus had time to read... It was great to be met by a friendly face.