Day 4 FLORENCE

The above photo was the view from our window in our suburb lodging in Florence.
Only a few minutes from the train station, we found our quaint little 1860s vine-covered villa, right in the middle of the city! This place was simply incredible - over the top - one of the perks of traveling off-season: getting 4star hotels for really cheap! ;o)

This is Jacob rejoicing once he tried out the bed - it was soft! :o)








Breakfast was equally quaint, in a delightful fabric-walled tea room :)








Some pics from the Garden courtyard outside




















We were feeling a bit on the lazy side, so we just kinda putzed around Florence, stopping and resting at this beautiful fountain, with it's own little rainbow!








Jacob grabbed the camera for some quick photos ;o)











We did manage to find one of the large landmarks of the city, a hige and elaborately decorated cathedral.




















Have you ever seen marzapan like this?!!! It was as big as real fruit!





Walking back to the train station......I could've taken a gazillion more pics - there's opportunity at every turn. But then, I think there is a balance is "capturing" your adventures and "enjoying" them, cuz you can't always do both ;o)





I just had to post this :o) Our friends back home can testify how Jacob and I extensively and unashamedly use coupons. So when we found an Italian coupon for a free Big Mac at the local McDonalds, we just had to use it ;o)





This is just one of the many high-speed trains that made our journeys around Italy possibly. Very slick, very cool - Amtrack has a lot to learn ;o)

Day 3 PISA

Pisa is just a darling little city, all quaint and colorful, full of Italian charm ;o) We left Rome, took a 1.5 hr train ride to Florence and then other 1 hour local train ride out to Pisa. We decided to only walk once we got there, as there is more to see when you do that {and it's cheaper ;o)}








The colorful houses all delightfully packed together all had equally colorful shutters and pretty little window boxes

















A city of bikes - which seemed like the preferred mode of transportation, sensible as most of the streets are pretty "skinny" ;o)





And then we came upon the great tower itself!





Yeah, I know this is terribly touristy but who can resist?!! ;o)











More (but only a few) of the cool sites around the city

Day 2: ROME

Our Second day of exploring Rome. It's great to feel like you really have a handle on a city and have it somewhat "figured out", as it makes the galavanting more fun ;o)





Started off with a little picnic in the piazza outside the Vatican - these people definitely know how to do pizza right! And because it's cheap this became the main fair for the rest of our stay in Italy ;o)





Vatican guards...





Many different types of nuns about...





Now it happened to be a religious holiday, so the Vatican was closed ( no Sistine Chapel for us...boo hoo), but we did manage to hit some big shindig that was happenin at St. Peters Square, which included a musical ensemble on horseback!!! And the little royal doggy that led the pack on its exit! ;o)





Yep I doubt I'll ever see this type of sight ever again!





Because of this shindig they temporarily allowed people into the St. Peters Basilica, so we slipped in during this time and were able to see it for a few moments before being ushered out.











Michaengelo probably created this or something, but that doesn't stop Jacob from having a little fun.... ;o)







The gazillions of columns were massive......quite the sight....





One of the two fountains in the square





Since there was nothing more we could see there, we headed outside the city to the Ancient Appian Way, the main highway of the Roman Empire, still used today. Here we were able to visit the oldest remaining catacomb.





You weren't supposed to take any photos....but i had to sneak in a few blind long-shutter snaps from my hip..... ;o)





This place had over 7 miles of underground tunnels, and over 100,000 burial places.





There is actually still a section of the Ancient Road still in existence - these are the actualy the stones laid several thousand years ago.





Waitin for our bus.......











This shot is showing Jacob in all his agony ;o) we were doing A LOT of walking....and we were starving...which makes the next photo so hilarious..... ;o)





We stopped into a little family owned restaurant, and ordered.......Jacob was so anxious for his meal - and this is what he got. 3 small discs of meat with a handful of potatoes, sparse enough that nothing actually touched each other on the plate. ;o) And what's even worse is the total cost of our meals was around 30 Euros ;o) The key to dinners in Italy is in the COURSES, and yes, to get filled up you need several courses. ;o) We ate a lot of pizza after this ;o)





Night walk....found a castle along the river....





Very quaint, well-lit streets.....and Jacob fillin up our water bottle from one of the many free-flowing fountains...





Okay - Roman Roads are just downright screwy......half of them aren't on the map, and nothin runs at right angles...it's quite the maze but eventually did find the PANTHEON








Even though we were freezing, the lure of the nearby gelateria was still to strong, so we ate our incredible ice cream under the impressive pillars of the Pantheon..




Showing some scale - that's me at the base of the door.