Amsterdam!

I'm back at work now and Clark is somewhere over Greenland on his way back. Had a great time in Amsterdam. Our hotel was an old Canal house with a view of the canal below. We saw the Ann Frank House and had a traditional Dutch casserole dinner on our first day. Here are the pictures from Amsterdam!



Don

Venezia

Well we are just finishing our day and half in Venice. Beautiful place but more tourists than any place yet. The water is high right now so St. Mark's square has little space for all the pigeons and tourists. Our hotel thankfully is away from the maddness. Our train ride from Florence was a relaxing ride with some Sydneysider family that Clark spoke to. We've done alot of walking here in Venice and after awhile we gave up on the map and just walked. So many alleys, small streets and bridges. Tonight we take the train to Milan for our last day in Italia. After that we are off to Amsterdam again.

Here are the picture from Venice!



See Ya!

Don

Florence

We are just finishing our 3 days in Florence, Italy. Our hotel, La Scaletta has a wonderful rooftop terrace with a view and a bar!

After Florence Clark and I are getting museumed out. Soo much art. On our last day we went to the Uffizi gallery and the Academy with Michelanglo's David. Tomorrow we take the train to Venice!

Here are the photos from Florence:



Don

Rome Day 3 Pictures

Here are the pictures from Day 3 in Rome.




For Day 4 we just wandered around some areas of Old Rome that we missed and did some reading near the Foro. Tomorrow we take the train to Florence.

Don

Rome Day 2 Pictures

As promised here the pictures from day 2 in Rome.


Day 3 we spent our time going to the wonderful Villa Borghese. No pictures allowed unfortunately This art collection includes excellent art and sculpture including Daphne and Apollo, the Rape of Proerpina, and the incredible Venus Victrix.

After that we walked through the Borghese park down to Piazza Popolo, down via dei Courso to Capitoline Hill for a higher view of Rome and the forum. Pictures from that day will be posted online soon. Ciao!

Don

Rome Day 1 and Day 2

Things are going great in Rome. The city really is just an endless mass of beautiful buildings and churches. Our hotel is the Trastevere district on the other side of the Tiber. It is more quiet than the other side of Rome and is full of narrow streets. Really atmospheric and excellent restaurants. The first day we got started in Rome around 11am after arriving by train. We started with a tour of the Forum and the Colosseum and the surrounding area. The forum was really larger than I thought it would be. The Colosseum was invaded by tour groups though. Really took a lot away from it.

The next day was an action packed day. We went to the Vatican museums to start off with. There was of course a 2 hour line but it seemed to go fast. The museum was more than anyone could expect. I feel the need to decompress from all the art and statues. Crowded but still worth it by a long shot. After that we of course went to St Peter's, the former Popes' crypt and then our to old Rome.

Here are the photos from day 1 in Rome:


Day 2 will probably have to come another day. We did nearly 700 photos today and it would take too long for me to download or pick out those. So, I will update this later. Ciao!

Don

Naples, Italy

Our flight from Buffalo to Washington-Dulles to Amsterdam to Naples was mostly without incident. The last flight on transavia a Dutch low cost carrier was especially annoying though. Everything was for sale and they didnt give you a moment's peace.

We just finished a fast-paced day and half in Naples, Italy. Our first night we did some quick exploring as we arrived at 4pm after 24 hours of travel. We went to look for Virgil's tomb and got lost. The metro here in Naples is confusing and street signs are hard to find. After that we went for a walk through Naples Historic District. Very interesting and real. Unlike other historic centers in Europe this center is not "Disneyfied" at all. Very authentic. We eventually found a pizzeria with excellent sauce and spicy salami topping!

The next day I was bad and slept in until Clark woke me up to go. We first took the train to the ruins of Pompeii. Very interesting but swarmed with tour groups. Our collective feet were sore after walking around those ruins for three hours. After that we returned to Naples to see the tomb of Virgil that we missed the day before. After that we went to the National Archaeological Museum which has many artefacts from Pompeii. We next went to the Castle by the waterfront and the huge Galleria Umberto. From there we took a neat funicular to the top of Naples and another castle with a great view. We finally then finished our sight packed day. Tomorrow we take the train to Rome!

Here are all the pictures from our time in Naples!