Pompeii – I loved this place! (I also got a Past and Present book there, though Pompeii is much better preserved.) The streets, the temples, the amphitheater, it really gave a feel for the ancient Roman life. This is a mural on one of the walls.
A typical street in Pompeii. It’s just amazing walking down streets that people walked on thousands of years ago.
Stayed in Sorrento (very cute town, but very tourist-laden) and went to the Isle of Capri to see the Blue Grotto and relax. The Grotto was eerily beautiful, but the entry is very small, and you have to lay in the bottom of the small rowboat to go in.
I know I’m in the minority, but I was underwhelmed. It was so crowded with tour groups, I ended up going more into the city, away from the Grand Canal. It was also the only place someone tried to get into my purse. I hit his hand and he just looked at me innocently and walked away. I enjoyed wandering around away from the Grand Canal. Getting lost is not a problem here – it’s an island, you can’t get too far off track!
This was the view from my hotel that overlooked the Arno River near the Ponte Vecchio and its jewelry shops.
My favorite Italian town. This is the home of Michelangelo’s David and the Uffizi. The long line at the museum looked threatening but moved very quickly. At museums and churches – don’t forget to look up, some of the best art is on the ceilings. This was especially true at the Pitti Palace, where the ceilings had the themes of the ancient Roman Gods.
I went to Assisi to my beautiful room at Hotel Sole. This is a truly gorgeous area. The church of St. Francis was beautiful, but so ornate – it seemed an incongruous monument to a man who believed in simplicity and poverty. (I was there a couple weeks before the earthquake.) St. Clare’s church was simpler, and the church that was built over St. Francis’ parents’ home was nice. This view is from my balcony towards St. Clare’s.
There’s a new(er) part of Assissi down the mountain from the area with St. Francis’ church. These big shoes were above a shoe store. I just liked them!
Big foot – body unknown – on Marble Foot Street (of course!)
My first view of the Coliseum in Rome! Apart from the Coliseum, the ruins were more ruined than expected. They sell a nice book called Rome Past and Present that has pictures of the ruins with overlays of what they were thought to have looked like. I bought a similar one for Pompeii.