Steph's Bodacious Boondoggles: Backpacking: Italy

9: Milan to Naples – early train and long ride to Naples, walk through city, walk through mob territory, pizza dinner at the home of pizza, movie.
10: Naples – day trip to Pompeii, churches, best pizza ever, movie/chill night.
11: Naples to Rome – train to Rome, hard to find hostel, Vatican shortly, Rick Steves walk through Rome (Campo di Fiori, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps), best gelato ever.
12: Rome – Vatican and Vatican Musuem (including the Sistine Chapel), Ancient Rome (including the Roman Forum and Colosseum), meet Anna and Shauna and re-walk Rick Steves walk to dinner.
13: Rome to Florence – to Florence, walk around town, laundry (at last!!!), Piazzale di Michelangelo for Rick Steves geek-a-thon, “Mexican food” for dinner.
14: Florence – Michelangelo’s David, day trip to Sienna; train ride through Tuscany and Chianti regions, bell tower, gelato, shopping, etc.
15: Florence – Medici chapels, meet up with Anna, day trip to Pisa (v. touristy, cool buildings, nice Rick Steves tour through town), run into Morgan and cousin, Duomo, Uffizi.
16: Florence – EASTER, Florence Easter firework show and procession, Piazzale di Michelangelo, dinner, gelato.
17: Florence to Venice – to Venice, Churches, wander, feed pigeons, bell tower, Rialto bridge.
18: Venice to Nice – Rick Steves canal tour, museums, churches, gondala ride, night train to Nice.

I had v. high expectations for Italy after all the hype I’d heard, and it wasn’t really anything like I’d thought it be. However, I did enjoy it immensely. We started at the opposite end of the country from where people usually began their visit, thus immersing us in the Southern Italian culture and startling us quite a bit. Naples was a very dirty, fast-paced, and unorganized city (though apparently the home of organized crime), but it grew on me after a while. Pompeii was surprisingly humungous and impressive, more so than the Roman Forum simply because it to me demonstrated both the wealth and ordinariness of the Romans. We were rushed in Rome, but had plenty of time to relax in Florence and enjoy the city. Venice was again not what I expected. It was small, and v. touristy, but beautiful in a sad and faded-glory kind of way. The train system was a pain to deal with, but the food and wine were amazing, with us eating gelato as much as humanly possible.

(photos: Trace at the Bay of Naples with Vesuvius in the background; old woman eating gelato in Naples; Pompeii and Vesuvius; one of the casts of bodies found at Pompeii; and me and Hermanio in the streets of Pompeii.)

(photos: the Saccanapoli - v. old, v. busy, v. narrow, and at times v. dodgy part of Naples; Trace, Rick Steves, and Hermanio at the Vatican; the Trevi Fountain; the "School of Athens" fresco by Raphael in the Vatican Museum; and Rome from the top of St. Peter's.)

(photos: Ancient Rome (the Forum and the Colosseum in the distance); me and Hermanio at the Colosseum; Hermanio meets Shauna and Anna at last; Il Duomo in Florence; and Rick Steves nerds and a look-alike at the Piazza.)

(photos: sunset over Florence; Il Campo in Sienna; view over Sienna and Tuscany; Trace and me at the Leaning Tower of Pisa; and Easter procession in Florence after fireworks.)

(photos: Trace double-fisting the gelato; me on the Ponte Vecchio with Hermanio and and a nearly-devoured cone of gelato... mmmm..; Morgan and Anna at the Piazza; Grand Canal in Venice; and feeding the birds at the Piazza San Marco.)