Italia- Vatican city

It's about 11am and I'm still sitting in my pj's out on our balcony with a beautiful ocean view drinking some coffee. We drove down to the amalfi coast and our last 3 days in Italy will be down by the beach. We have some things on the agenda but we're hoping for just a few relaxing days. We have had a nice visit with my sister and her husband who celebrate their 10 year anniversary today! We finished off Rome with a trip to the pantheon, which was built more than 2k years ago and is in perfect shape! Boy, they just don't build like that anymore. Then we went to Peter's cathedral in the Vatican. It is absolutley stunning in every way. Being from America, you can't help but be amazed when you walk around a city that is thousands of years old. In honor of our trip to Rome, last night we watch the movie gladiator. Haha.  Also, we did score some sweet "free days" while we were in Rome. The Vatican is free the last sunday of the month, Paul's cathedral is free, pantheon is free, we got free parking and peter's cathedral is free on Wednesdays. Don't get me wrong pretty much everything else has been WAY more expensive then planned but it is always nice to see the "gratis" sign :)

When in Rome...

Haha I know it's cheesy but I've been saying it all week and also "Rome wasn't built in a day" and a series of other expressions that you only get to truly use once in your life. We've had a really fun week. A little slower pase (well for us anyways- that means only walking for 7 hours a day instead of 12). We saw the colluseum and the roman forum yesterday. It definitely has a dark history but still its pretty incredible. You feel like its a flash back in time and you can picture Caesar walking around and the gladiator games at the peak of the roman rule. It's really interesting. Today we saw the villa borghese, apostle Paul's burial place, and the pantheon. So much history and beauty in this city. Some of these places have been standing for over 2000 years! We have also eaten pizza like 3x a day. When we were choosing a place for lunch today we looked up and saw a pizzeria, next to a pizzeria, next to a pizzaria. We went out on a limb today and picked a pizzeria for lunch :)

Cinque terre, Pisa and Rome

Despite the fact that my last blog was only 2 days ago we have already been to 3 more absolutely incredible cities. Cinque Terre is a beautiful beach community made up of 5 separate towns. They are each positioned out along the water about 5 miles apart. A lot of walking but definitely worth it. Then we got to see the leaning tower of Pisa. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain so we didn't get to spend too much time there but there really is nothing like it. It leans so sharp, it looks like it is going to fall over. Today my sister, Marie and her husband, Derald, arrived in Rome. It is always extra fun to experience travel with other people. The last Sunday of every month the Vatican and Sistine chapel  are free! (A backpacker's favorite word). The tour through the museum is beautiful. The art and history are so inspiring. To think of the number of hours that Michelangelo spent working in there is insane! Everywhere you walk there are priceless incredible works of art. We have really loved Rome so far. There is so much to see and do in Rome, I feel like a kid with jitters the night before Christmas  :)

Venice and Florence, italia

Pretty content right now, we just went wine tasting in Tuscany, Italy! It was absolutely amazing!!! We took a beautiful drive through the country roads. Every building is Tuscany style, even barns and farm houses. The rolling hills area so green and the long grass waves in the breeze. We stopped off at this winery in chianti called Podere Spazzavento. They gave us a bunch of free glasses of wine and the owner gave us a personal tour through the winery. They grow their own grapes organically and bottle it there. He said that every year the grapes taste different and that is what makes each bottle so original. It was just what we needed after a long day in Florence. We walked the whole town of florence today and saw the actual Michelangelo's David at the galleria dell academia.  It was a beautiful town with a lot of history. Yesterday, we visited Venice. I've seen so many pictures but there really is no way to prepare yourself for the intricacy of the waterways. Venice is made up of all these tiny islands connected by bridges. It is so incredible. Italy is truly an amazing place!