Ciao Italia!

Well, I finally got to go to Italy! I've always wanted to go and it was hard to pass up a cheap 2 hour flight to get there! Since Jeff had a long weekend for Columbus Day, I decided that we had to take our first big trip. We have friends from Ft. Gordon that are now stationed in Naples and figured that it'd be a great opportunity to see them.

We flew into Rome on Friday morning and had all day to sightsee there. The public

transportation system is great in Rome because you can basically get anywhere by train or bus. We bought an all-day train pass for 4 Euro and each bus trip was about 1 Euro a piece, so it was

very affordable compared to what a taxi would cost. We waited for a bus at the air

port that took us to a train station. After a train trip to our hotel, we realized that

at the hotel was still another 1.7 miles from the train station. We took a cab the rest of the way. :) We stayed at a Marriott outside of the city. It was an amazing hotel and I highly recommend it! They had a round-trip shuttle service that dropped us off

near the Vatican for only 10 Euro a piece (Brayden was free). The food was great in the hotel and we even got access to the Executive Suite where we could get snacks and drinks since Jeff has

racked up the Marriott points in the past couple of years.

That afternoon we took the shuttle and saw St. Peter's Basilica, St. Peter's Square, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and many other beautiful churches. Brayden decided to fall asleep on the shuttle and stayed asleep until we got to St. Peter's Square. We had dinner at Caffe Barocco which was inside of Piazza Navona. The food was great and our server was wonderful! He was so sweet to Brayden and really made that restaurant a great experience. We sat outside so we got to watch the people go by and also listen to people play guitars and accordions. I really felt like I

was in Italy at that point! I was so happy that I was able to get some great pictures of Brayden chasing pigeons in St. Peter's Square. When we left there, Jeff and I looked at each other and said..."Ok, we could go home now". That was definitely the highlight of the trip! We ended the day in Rome with some gelato which was delicious of course! :)

The next morning, we hopped on a 2 hour train ride to Naples to see our friends Tom and Ashley. On the way to their house from the train station we soon realized that Italians don't have driving laws...or if they do, they don't follow them! Their rules basically consist of 1) Don't make eye contact with the other driver that you approach the intersection with because that would be giving him the right of way 2) If the nose of your car is in front first, you have right of way 3) Stop signs are really just a suggestion, not a rule 4) Lane lines mean nothing and you're better off just driving down the middle of the road. It was quite entertaining actually! We had a pretty

low-key day on Saturday which was much needed! We went to lunch at a place by their house and had some great bruschetta and pasta. Cappuccino/caffe was a common thing

for us in the middle of the afternoon in Italy as well. That evening we went to a local pizzeria and the atmosphere was great. The Neapolitan pizza was amazing and the man making the pizzas,

Vincenzo, had Brayden come behind the counter and watch. Of course on the way home, we stopped for gelato! The next day we went to breakfast at the Premiere Cafe and had cornetti and cappuccinos. Cornetti are basically a pastries that they fill with creme or jelly...sooo good. Mine had chocolate inside and was drizzled with cocoa powder. Later, we went to Ercolano to the Herculaneum to see the ruins there. Mt. Vesuvius was a beautiful site in the distance as well. It was quite amazing to see some of the paintings that still existed on the walls of some of the buildings.

After we toured there, we went to a pizzeria up the street and had paninis for lunch. The older woman behind the counter brought out some freshly squeezed orange juice for Brayden. I was completely impressed with how everyone treats kids in Italy...they love them! That afternoon we drank some great Italian wine and headed to dinner for more pizza and pasta. If you couldn't

tell, we REALLY enjoyed the food in Naples!! It was so much more affordable than what it cost in Rome! Unfortunately, Naples wasn't really much to look at besides Mt. Vesuvius and the ruins. It's sad that the streets and their beaches are filled with trash. It was great to spend some time with friends though!!

We took the train the next day back to Rome and spent the day seeing the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, Palatine and Roman Forum. We took the train from the Trevi Fountain to the Colosseum. We figured that we would just follow signs to get to the Colosseum and we would find it eventually. When we came out of the train station and up the stairs, we were amazed as we stared at the Colosseum right in front of us! It was amazing to see. Unfortunately, Brayden slept most of the way through it, but woke up towards the end so we could at least get pictures to prove that he was there! :)

It was such a great trip and it's so amazing that we can see the things that we can after a short 2 hour flight. We feel very fortunate that we have the opportunities that we do right now and we are taking full advantage of living in this part of the world. I am also thankful that I have a wonderful husband that didn't object one bit when I told him that I was booked a trip to Italy, too! :)

Rome/Naples October 7-11, 2011