Sheila's World

Viva Italia!!!

Here is a recount of my trip to Italy/Amsterdam. I will try to make it as short (but thorough) as possible as not to bore you. Pictures should help... ;-)

Day 1: Travel Day!
Let's just say that BUSINESS CLASS for International Travel doesn't suck. Watched a movie (The Book of Eli). Great movie BTW. Played Blackjack on the mini tv and got hooked on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Never got past $16,000, though. Grrr. (score improved on the way home). Then I slept about 2-3 hours (reclining chairs, pillow, blanket, socks, eye mask and earplugs) and enjoyed amazing meals delivered directly to my chair. Spoiled. Completely spoiled. We had a giggling explosion in the middle of the night and probably woke up half the business class passengers. I think it must have been the altitude. :-)

Day 2: Travel/Arrive in Orvieto

We arrived in Rome and took the train to Orvieto. Talk about chaos at the train station! We had no idea what we were doing and it took awhile to get our bearings on where to go and the train process in whole. Angela had to use the little girls room at the train station. It was there that we discovered we had to "pay to pee." WHAT?! Yes, it's everwhere, we soon discovered. Culture shock! Finally, we found ourselves on the right train and off to Orvieto.

Could not wait to get to our Villa on the outskirts of town. Exhausted at this point but uber excited. :-)

Once in Orvieto, we just relaxed and walked the 1/2 mile of hills to dinner which turned out to be the most amazing meal I swear I have ever had.

It also started my addiction to focaccia (a certain bread) that I continued to search high and low for throughout the trip.

Day 3: Orvieto

We slept in, with the help of some Ibuprofen PM. Once awake, we went into town to exlore a bit, rented a car (for the next adventure), and layed out by the pool. Oh yeah baby!

One more thing. Tried to go to the same restaurant for dinner this night and our girl, Claudia (pronounced Cloudia), wasn't working. Instead there was an Italian guy who turned us away saying they were "full." There were only 5 tables full. We've tried to be optimistic since then and come up with a good reason, besides him not wanting to serve us than just because we were American, but it seems suspect.

Day 4: Cinque Terre

Well, we both started this day off early. We woke up around 4 or 5 am (can't remember exactly as jet lag has killed brain cells) and decided to get an early headstart to the Cinque Terre. Turns out we were glad we did because our GPS didn't work that we'd rented and we were dependant on Angela's mad navigational map skills and my newly learned mad woman driving skills at that point. Wow. It took us a very long time to get to our destination. Looking at the map, we took what looked to be the shortest route and what actually ended up being the longest...only because there were 10 million little towns in between. I did see more road cyclists through those little towns than I have ever seen in my life! The scenery was gorgeous but the roads were time consuming. So, after about 5+ hours of driving and an extra hour of driving in La Spezia looking for the train station to take us to Cinque Terre, we finally made it. MAN, it was worth it. All the stress and confusion of the day dissipated at that point.

Take a mountain range, split it in a half, add the SEA to one side and you have the Cinque Terre. A little rain first (our luck) and then we set off on the most epic hike I may have ever experienced. A hike between 5 cities, all uphill and along the coastline. At times it felt like we were in the midst of a rain forest. By the time we finished, our legs were shaking. Literally. It was incredible. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

Then, off to Pisa for a good night of sleep. Once we had dinner, figured out how to make the lights stay on, caught up on email and showered, we were down for the count. Long DAY.

Day 5: Pisa/Tuscany Hill Towns

Now, the leaning tower of Pisa was so COOL. We wanted to go up to the top but it turns out that they only let 45 people up at a time and there was a 2 hour wait. No time to waste. Did some shoppin, took the famous leaning tower pic (only to lose these pics later) and headed off to greener pastures. Literally. :-)

First stop, San Gimignano. AMAZING hill town. It was like being part of a picture. Everything you imagine the Tuscany area to be, it is.

We explored a bit, made a wish in the fountain, and bought the coolest leather bags/purse in the world. Italian leather. Who can say they have Italian leather directly from Italy? Me. :-)

Siena was next. We got lost there too. Haha. Not lost getting to the town, but inside of it. Our maps were only highways. We thought it would be easier to find the main square. It wasn't. But, that was okay. Siena was our favorite of the day. Actually, it seemed like every new city we went to became our new favorite. Lol. The square consisted of local apartments instead of shops/boutiques. Locals were everywhere. We wanted to stay longer.

As we were leaving Siena after dinner, there was a catholic procession marching through the square. Not sure what was going on but they were singing, there were nuns, priests, monks, etc. Pretty incredible experience.

Day 7: Amalfi Coast

I suppose not all days can be great. We woke up uber early to catch an early 4 hour train to Naples. From Naples, another train to Pompeii. Pompeii was pretty impressive!

These were real bodies whose outer shells were hardened and preserved...called "Garden of the Fugitives."

From Pompeii, another train to Sorrento. In Sorrento, we decided a boat ride would be the best route to Amalfi but it turned out that we were too late for boats and had to take the bus which was another hour or so. Ended up at our AMAZING hotel, Il Saraceno, about 5 or 6pm.

EXHAUSTED. It was here that my memory card also decided to give me an error and I lost all my pictures from the beginning of the trip until this point. I was so disheartened. Exhaustion and travel made for an early to bed evening and we chalked this day up to probably the worst day of the trip.

Day 6: OFF Day in Orvieto

Woke up and went to Civita (about 20 minutes away). Really cool, quaint little town.

We enjoyed a little more pool time but not as much as we'd hoped for as it was later in the day and the clouds tend to roll in about 3ish.

We also had a porcupine sighting - they had their quills up while crossing the road at night. Very cool.

No more car after this day. People are insane when they drive. Scooters and mopeds think they can do whatever they want. Actually, they don't think that, they actually just do whatever they want. Cars pass when there is nowhere to pass. If there are only two lanes but room for 3 cars, it is guaranteed that the 3rd car will find a way to squeeze in. Round abouts were cool. Driving fast was cool. :-) The autostrada at 130+km/hr was a really good time. Some of the places we saw in Tuscany would have never been available to us without a car but after this experience, we were quite happy to be on trains, boats, buses and foot for the rest of the trip.

Day 8: Amalfi Coast/Island of Capri

We woke up, had breakfast and caught a 10am boat ride...headed to Capri. The yogurt is amazing in Italy. Unlike any I have ever had in the states. A little salami and cheese on crackers for breakfast makes for a good start to the day.

The boat ride was incredible!

One hour of relaxation and sun. First thing we did upon arrival is purchase our ticket and boat ride to the Blue Grotta.

We took a larger boat to the cave entrance. Once at the entrance, we were transferred to smaller boats (dinghies) to enter the cave. We actually had to lay down inside the boat to get through the opening. Angela and I became very close at that point. Lol. Our boat guide sang to us while we experienced a place where emperors traveled hidden from the outside world. This is some of the bluest water in the world.

It took hours for this as it is quite the popular thing. So, we proceeded to have lunch (best FISH in the world, I might add) and lay out and relax.

I bought a beach towel (for a souvenir as well) and laid on rocks while Angela enjoyed the luxury of a very nice chair with a face shade. Heaven.

Day 10: Venice

Venice was everything I imagined.

We took a boat shuttle to the square which was where our hotel was. Everyone walks or boats in Venice. No cars. Obviously. This is live music (violins, pianos, etc.) playing on the square at all hours of the day. In the evening, we found old people dancing to the music. Quite the romantic city...well, not for us...but next time I go there I am taking a boy. Sorry, man. :-) Too much shopping in Venice. The glass is beautiful! Lots of glass rings, necklaces, etc. Bad, Bad! But, still so good!