Venice

Before Venice we stopped in Pisa to see the leaning tower for a bit. Today is our last day in Venice and the final day of the honeymoon, (sigh) it’s been nice and I don’t want to leave but it will also be good to come home as well. Today we took a water bus out to the island of Murano. They are famous for their glass blowing, we toured a little gallery with some sculptures that were really beautiful. Last night we went to a local Irish pub and met a couple from Waterford Ireland (yes like the crystal, that’s where it’s made) they were really nice and we closed the bar down with them, the bar was only open until 12:30. On our first day here we went to the San Marco Basilica. The ceilings are decorated in tiny mosaics of golden glass tiles and are very ornate. Saint Mark is the patron evangelist of Venice the church holds his bones as well. Tonight we’re going to have a nice dinner of seafood and take a gondola ride if weather permits. The city is pretty cool, everything is built on huge wooden pillars sunk down through the ocean into the soft mud below until the pillars hit harder mud. They then put a layer of wooden beams much like a wooden floor on top of the pillars to make a stable “ground,” THEN they put 2 layers of thick bricks and then built the city on top of the bricks. So the city does kind of float in the water. Canals cut through the island as ways for people to get in and out of their homes. This was also a way to protect the city because no ships could get close enough to it because the water is so shallow unless they knew the way to navigate through the deeper sections of water that exist around the city. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving and we’ll see you soon!!

Philip in deep thought

Florence

We have been in Florence since Sunday and today is our final full day. Tuesday we went to the Accademia to see The David and other works by Michelangelo. There truly are no words to describe this work of art. I could've stood there for hours marveling at how beautiful and perfect it was. First off, it was a lot bigger than I imagined, I don't know why, but I had it in my head it was more life sized than it was. Just the base the statue stands on is taller than me, I think the whole piece must be 15 feet tall. They have benches and chairs for you to sit down at because otherwise everyone would just crowd around the statue. I have no idea how Michelangelo was able to envision the look of the statue from just looking at a block of marble, and at the age of 29 I think. The statue took 3 years for him to complete, but I will remember it for a lifetime.

Last night we had the best dinner by far in this city at a small restaurant that was a simple wooden door on a brick wall. We ate a steak a la Flourentine. It was soooo good, and HUGE, you split it for two people. The steak that was fabulous with an awesome crust on the outside and perfectly seasoned with salt and pepper. Our waiter helped choose a wine to go with it and since we're in Tuscany we chose a Chianti.

We followed that up with a raspberry, marscopone cheese tart and a dessert wine. It was well worth the 15 minute walk and getting lost a few times along the way! Today we will go to the Uffizi Gallery to see my favorite painter's most well known work, Botticelli's The Birth of Venus...we're also going to try to take a bus out to Pisa, about an hour away to see the leaning tower, then off to Venice on Thanksgiving!

Florence's Dumo and the ceiling inside

Updating NOW

stand by...updating w/ pics now, since the photo slide show won't work i'm posting individual pics. Look Below for new photos

Present time- Florence

So that should help update everyone on what we've done so far. Today we drove from Rome to Florence. We stopped in Assisi to see the church there and look out over the beautiful Tuscan landscape, we're here for 4 days so we'll have internet for that long at least. Thanksgiving we're off to Venice for the final 3 days of our trip then back home on Sunday. Tomorrow we'll see a bit of the town because the museums are closed, but we'll head that way on Tuesday probably to see The David and more. Talk to you soon!

Rome Pt: 2

Vatican City

Friday brought us to Vatican City and I must say this was one of my favorite days so far. Full of education and amazing works of art, I was in heaven! We meant to visit the church and the museum, but ended up taking a tour with a guide instead and boy was it worth the money. I think I learned so much on that tour that many of the works of art would not have meant nearly as much if I had just walked by them to look. The tour started in the museum and we were told about the Sistine Chapel before visiting the chapel. We learned it took 4 years for Michelangelo to paint the ceiling and that he and the Pope were not getting along so there are several spots on the ceiling that he deliberately placed there to anger the Pope. Such as showing God going to create man on earth, by showing his back side with his uncovered butt facing everyone to see, he also painted a self portrait of his head on a platter in the corner to show that he felt beheaded by the church for being forced into creating this project. He also painted another Pope into the scene being bitten on the groin by a snake to show his dislike for the Pope. Nero’s bath is also located in the museum as well as works by Rafael in the area that used to be where the Pope’s live. We then went to St. Peters Basilica and this church is so huge and so amazing words cannot describe. The amount of gold in these churches alone is enough to make any jewelry lover drool. We climbed to the top of the dome and looked out over Rome to see a beautiful site. By then it was dark so we headed for home on the bus. (love public transportation in these cities, it is so advanced and well planned)

We also climbed to the top of Saint Peter's Basilica, it was ONLY a couple hundred steps and it took a very long time to climb to the top, but it was well worth it!

Our last day in Rome we toured the Coliseum, Palatine Hill and the Forum. We took a tour at the Coliseum as well and it was pretty informative. They explain how the stadium was built and faced with marble and how there were elevators beneath the stadium to raise and lower animals to participate in the gladiator fights.

The famous Accademia painting in the former Pope's apartment located in the Vatican. Our guide told us so much about this painting and the former scholars featured inside the painting as well as a self portrait by Rafael and his lover that he was not allowd to be with, due to the fact he was engaged to a Cardinal's daughter.

blurry photo of the Sistine Chapel. A film company came in and paid for the restoration and now holds the copyright, not the Vatican. So...no one is allowed to take photos of the room because it's under copyright. This was all we were able to sneak out for you all, as well as some steath videography by Philip (call us secret agents!)

Rome Pt: 1

After Positano we drove our little rental car up to Rome and dropped it off at the airport where we caught a bus into town. Our hotel was pretty close to the train station so we were able to drag our luggage over the old streets to the hotel. We just finished with Rome and were there for 4 days and still didn’t see it all (The Pantheon). However, we did see a ton and it was well worth it, Philip and I both enjoyed this city even though it is extremely busy and full of people. There is just something about walking to work or eating lunch in the shadow of a major piece of world history that is thousands of years old.

Day one we arrived in the evening and it was pretty dark so we set off to see the Coliseum, it was gorgeously lit up at night and was very exciting to see something I’ve seen so many times on The History Channel, but to see it and touch it was wonderful. We had a dinner at a small restaurant, Philip had lasagna and I had veal scaloppini with lemon sauce (sorry Cori).
The second day we took a bus tour that came with our hotel room, it has an open top and you ride around town and listen to an audio tour. You can get on and off at various stops. This day we saw the Trevi Fountain (AMAZING) a massive monument to a former president, we passed by Vatican City but saved that for day 3 since it’s so huge. We went to the Spanish Steps as well. Our hotel was near a church called Saint Maria Maggiore which is said to hold pieces of the Manger of Christ, you can view a beautiful golden case under the alter that holds the pieces.


Trevi Fountain is the most famous fountain of Rome and the largest. The fountain is at the crossroads of 3 streets and supplied water to the ancient city of Rome when would be conquerors destroyed Rome's aquaducts.

Pompeii & Positano

Hello everyone! It has been awhile since we had internet access and we were feeling like we were back in the dark ages. We have done so much since we last checked in! After I last wrote from Naples (blech!) we left on our way south to the coast. We stopped to see the ruins at Pompeii and it was pretty amazing. It’s like a ghost town, very quiet and serine, but you know that it was completely devastated when Mt. Vesuvius blew up preserving the city in a blanket of ashes. Buildings and theaters still stand, there are mosaics on the floor and pottery as if the residents had just left.

After Pompeii we went to THE MOST BEAUTIFUL town we have ever seen here and it is called Positano, located on the western coast of Italy called the Amalfi Coast. It is a part of the country where towns are tucked into cliff sides over looking the ocean. Positano is a small tiny town unlike Salerno, which is more touristy. We only spent one night, which was not nearly long enough and we both are trying to figure out how we could ever buy a piece of property there as well ;o)… but we had an amazing dinner of muscles and local wine at a nice little restaurant. Picture link below from Tues Nov 18th! Enjoy.

Nicole and Philip

excellent pizza in pompeii w/ beer and ice cram for 6 euro, there was a discoteca next door where people would dance at night

ampetheater at Pompeii

view from our hotel room in Positano

since Positano was a seaside town we had to try some local seafood. Here we shared a plate of muscles in white wine sauce with parsley along with a half litere of white wine YUM!!!

Naples

Hello everyone, we finally made it to Italy yesterday afternoon. We flew into Naples on a quick 2 hour flight and made it to town. This city is CRAZY, if you think Houston or New York drivers are crazy come here. The streets are tiny, and confusing because street names change with each block. Motorcycles cut off cars and buses constantly by inches, several times we thought we would be in an accident. Also taxi drivers here, I read about them and prepared Philip, they will take the long way around town, try to charge you more than the meter says etc. Well our guy was no exception. When we arrived at the center city square we got a taxi to the hotel (there was no way we would have found it otherwise) he finally found it and it was $7.50 euros, Philip gave him a $20 and this taxi driver gave Philip back $5!?!?

Philip was like - no way I gave you twenty dollars! - the driver tried to tell him he was charging for the luggage we had...whatever! But Philip stuck by his guns and demanded the money back and got it, but being the nice guy still gave the driver a tip. Oh well!

Anyways this city is nuts and we only spent one night here thank God! Did not really have time to see any sites since we made it to town by 5pm and everything started closing up.

This morning we are headed to the airport to rent a car and drive to Pompeii then to a small town called Positano on the Amalfi cost for a night. Then off to Rome! Hope you are all well, talk to you soon!

Nicole & Philip

Final Day in Athens

Today is our last day in Athens and I think the city took it's toll on Philip, he's already napping and it's 4pm! I think I discovered why all the young greeks are pretty well in shape and it's walking the hills of the city and the Acropolis all the time! It was a pretty steap climb up to the Acropolis, but we did make it!

We saw the Parthenon- built for the goddess Athena and is considered one of the most important structures in Greece. It was built in the 5th century B.C. and has survived earthquakes and has sustained damage due to wars in the area. The theater of Dionysius and the theatre of Herodes Atticus are also on the mound and they're where music concerts were held.

Next we went to the Temple of Zeus built around 470 B.C.
Another amazing thing abou this city, all the monuments and museums we went to were free go figure! I know it will not be that way in Italy though :o(

We went to the National Archaeological Museum where they have hudreds of items on display from pottery to marble sculptures.

We wrote post cards today but won't be able to mail them until tomorrow since it's Sunday and try to find a post office tomorrow. We'll be flying to Naples tomorrow afternoon (early morning your time) hopefully the hotel will have internet access too.

Athens- Day 2 November 15th

Today is day 2 in Athens and we slept FOREVER! Catching up from jet lag I guess we woke up at noon and hit the town to see what we could. We begain walking to Sytagamo Square, kind of the main area of center Athens. The Parliament Building was on the corner and we watched the changing of the guard then continued on around the corner and walked through the National Gardens. More like a forest of trees than an actual landscaped garden. The Presidnetial Palace and residence were across the street and we photographed those as well.

Rounding out the block we came to Athens Stadium which was built in the early 80's and has been home to soccer games as well as the 1992 Olympic opening and closing events. Down the street was the Olympic Pool, we think this was the smaller pool for some of the swimming and sincronized swimming events because Google says there were 2 outdoor pools and 1 indoor pool, only one pool is left with the metal bars around it left to rust. the pool wasn't dirty but maybe it's only open in the summer becaus the water was still clear.

Next we headed to the Temple of Zeus, but it was closing ing 15 minutes so we'll go back tomorrow. We did get a picture taken in front of the Hadrian's Arch by a nice lady from Peru. The arch was built to honor the Roman Emperor Hadrian and to honor the many benefactors he brought to the city. It is made of marble and was built aroung 131 AD, can you imagine anything so old!?

I think I will find myself saying that this whole trip seeing as how most of our American museums and monuments are 200 years old at the most!

After all that we were hungry and found a place called Pita Pan, no kidding! hehe. Stopped and had some gyros which were awesome and headed to the Plaka, a shopping area of town. Here all the girls wear tight jeans, or tights with knee high boots, some with heels, but most are flat with a wide heel, better for navigating the uneven streets.

For some reason the spell check doesn't work when I click it so sorry for any typos, I already corrected yesterday's post!

In the Plaka we stopped for a big happy hour beer (2.20 euros. the exchange rate is VERY good right now at 80 cents to 1 Euro. So the beer was around $3 American money, not too bad considering last month is was $1.30 American to the Euro and when we were in Ireland it was $1.50 American to make 1 Euro.

We're about to head out to dinner in a bit and see some of the night life. (We'll be safe mom don't worry!) For now pictures below! Love you all!

Athens

Hello from Athens everyone! We finally arrived after a crazy trip! Our flight was canceled in Chicago by an airline who didn't tell anyone...so us and another set of passengers were routed through Amsterdam putting us to arrive 5 hours later in Athens than originally planned. Amsterdam airport had some interesting characters, including 3 people in a Cheese Suit, a Hot Dog Suit & a Chicken suit, I'm guessing they were promoting a restaruant in the area so we snapped a picture.

So we did not get to see the city today seeing as we arrived at 5pm and it was dark. We made our way onto the metro/subway car to the city center, weather is a gorgeous 57 degrees and clear. Public transportation here is very nice and everyone uses it as opposed to a car. After riding that, we sucessfully transfered to the next rail system for a quick stop and climed out of the underground onto the Athens streets.

Everything here is very close together and buildings are squished into tiny blocks of winding streets with no names, and the ones with names you'd never be able to read.

We were hoping to find a taxi outside of the train station to take us to our hotel which was only a few blocks away but realized there were no taxis. We stopped into another hotel to get directions only to find our hotel was 2 blocks away from us. We walked with the luggage over the bumpy streets and made it safe and sound.

The hotel even brought us up a bottle of wine and fruit as congratulations on our honeymoon! YES!! I think every trip I take from here on out will be dubbed a "honeymoon!"

After a shower we walked literally around the corner and saw the Acropolis area all lit up at night, it was gorgeous and I can't wait to climb up there tomorrow morning! We then stopped in a restaurant for some food, Philip had pork slouvaki, which is a grilled meat kabob with rice, I had the mousaka which Philip quickly developed a taste for. It's like a lasagna with eggplant for the noodles, YUMMY! We also tried some local beers which were very good as well.

By then it was 10pm here and we were exhausted from traveling so we are now at the hotel which I discovered has free internet, Yeah! Philip is already knocked out beside me as I type and I must confess I did log onto work and do a littl e-mailing, I couldn't help myself. Anyways, not too many pictures yet but I took a few below enjoy! Love you all!


Nicole & Philip