Italy

Venice, Florence, and Rome

December 25th, 2005 - January 1st, 2006

Over 11,000 miles in seven days

 

Please let this page load for a few moments before scrolling through, there are over 100 photos

 

Here's our bags ready to go!

 

Driving through the everglades on the way to the Miami airport

 

Our terminal was empty, with 3 hours to wait we ended up going back and getting a few drinks before going to the gate

 

 

Waiting in line to enter the plane...Bon Voyage!

 

After the 8 hour flight, we arrived at Charles DeGaulle airport in Paris, France

 

Some shots of the airport...

 

 

 

VENICE

Our hotel in Venice. We actually arrived at night...This was taken the next day

 

Mark used all three when we got in

 

View of the lovely car park and bus loading zone directly out our hotel window in Venice

 

Left view....

 

Right View...

 

Green Mediterranean water. Everything needs to be brought in by boat and hand-carted into the city (notice the supply boat on bottom right)

 

There are over 400 bridges in Venice, every one has a postcard shot at the top.

 

Another postcard

 

One of a million narrow brick roads. There are no cars in Venice.

Most of Venice was very empty. This was taken in the Santa Croce area.

 

Did you know the city is sinking?

 

 

Venice is a graphic artist's dream chock full of amazing textures.

 

This is the Grand Canal, which snakes through the fish-shaped island of Venice. Again, you see another supply boat alongside a tourist filled vaporetto.

 

Heather walking down one of the zillion cobblestone streets.

 

Mark standing on a bridge.

 

We were standing on a bridge for this shot, and you can see two more down the canal. It was a workout!

 

Check out these window shutters!

 

Another church

 

Mark loved the fresh produce vendors scattered through the city.

 

Heather loved this bridge. It is only a few minutes from the Rialto bridge, but there mainly locals walking about. Notice the sunken boat on the left.

 

Here's Heather on the Rialto bridge. What's with the weird arm?

 

Ah, a better shot of the sunken boat in the canal.

 

From the Rialto bridge. There are a boat-load of tourists in this area, even in the winter!

 

If you go, don't buy anything in the Rialto area, you're better off outside of the main tourist district.

 

 

A walk-up pizza stand. Mark loved this pizza, Heather thought it tasted like roller-skating rink pizza.

 

Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square).

 

It was a big contrast coming from the claustrophobic streets to the huge Piazza.

 

San Marco is another very touristy area.

 

Basilica di San Marco

 

Why would you pay for pigeons to poop on you?

 

 

Cool masks at a vendor cart next to San Marco.

 

A sad little barricaded door.

 

Pizza Margherita at an American style pizza joint. They were going for the California style pizza with the baby field greens on top!

(Actually, California is going for the Italian style)

 

Back to the quite fondamenta (called so because what your walking on is the foundation of the building next to it)

 

Money, money, money, mon-ey!

 

Rialto at night

 

One of the bathrooms. Very Stanley Kubric.

 

Even the foundation pillars are ornamental here! There are so many little creepy yet beautiful nooks in Venice. All open to the public.

 

The train station.

 

View from the train station

 

Our luggage was getting heavier!

 

Train sign-board

 

Cold morning at the train station.

 

Waiting for the train

 

FLORENCE

 

The view from our room.

The bathroom. We loved the bidet!

 

The junk from our pockets. The Aleve came in super-handy!

 

The Italians and their scooters...it's true.

 

Man working while Mark takes pictures ;-)

 

The streets were so pretty at night light up with the strings of light.

 

It started snowing...then it started snowing very hard

 

So, we found an Irish-American pub and had paninis and White Russians.

 

 

The nasty bathroom of the Old Stove. Note the pedals to turn on the water

It's fun to feel like your driving the sink.

 

You get respect when you have an I <3 NY umbrella!

 

Ponte Vecchio and it's infamous jewelry shops. It's quite pricey though!

 

Cool wall-hanging. Note the price!

 

Heather was like this the entire time ...searching for the perfect gift.

 

Italian bling.

 

The Arno River

 

Here's the money shot!

 

Gelato. I'm fairly sure Ben and Jerrys got there recipe in Italy, it tasted exactly like there chocolate brownie.

 

This is what a Ford Expedition looks like in Europe.

 

Farmacia, Heather was in need of this in Florence :-(

 

Antipasti and Rosé

 

Dinner in Florence. This gnocchi was awesome.

 

You're going to see this one twice, it's that good. It's the buildings which make up the Duomo.

 

Santa Maria Novella with snow.

 

View of the top of the garbage cans on the way back to the hotel.

 

Heather in front of the Nazioni. This night was awesome!

 

And it snowed hard all night long....

 

Good morning, Florence!

 

Heather reading the map trying to find the Uffizi Galleries.

 

That was the Uffizi, but we walked right by it.

 

Loggia dei Lanzi (a statue garden outside the Uffizi)

The Uffizi holds more Renaissance art than any museum in the world.

 

The only photo taken inside of the Uffizi, your just going to have to go there yourself if you want to see the artwork inside.

Heather loves this illegally obtained picture. (No pictures allowed in Uffizi, but Mark was breakin' the law)

 

Piazza della Signoria

 

View across the Arno River from Uffizi. That is toward the Pitti Palace.

 

View of the Duomo from Uffizi.

 

Ponte Vecchio from Uffizi. The only bridge not destroyed as the Nazi's left Florence, because of it's fame.

Originally it housed butcher shops. The bourgeois up the river didn't like the stench, so they kicked them out and replaced them with goldsmiths and jewelry peddlers. It has been that way ever since.

 

The snow covered building on the right is a walkway towards the Pitti Palace from the Uffizi (originally the offices of the Medici family).

 

More bridges over the Arno

 

Some buildings ...Looking out the Uffizi

 

The Duomo from the street. They were cleaning the filth off via scaffolding.

 

Statue looking out at the Duomo. Maybe the architect?

 

Built in the 1290's without supports.

 

Some housing in Florence

 

Walking back to the Hotel Nazioni

 

Santa Maria Novella

 

The old and the new...

 

Here it is one more time.

 

At the train station leaving Florence...ready to see Rome.

 

View out our hotel in Rome. We were 2 blocks away from the Coliseum

 

View from the hotel in Rome

 

 

 

Left and right views from the hotel window

 

Best bathtub in Europe on the right.

 

Our fist view of the Coliseum. We were walking the wrong way for a few blocks when we turned around to see this. I said "I think that's the Coliseum :)"

 

It's impossible to fit the Coliseum into one photo without a wide angle lens.

 

The road around the Coliseum

 

Line to get tickets

 

We didn't have time to go inside but that's ok

 

Looking toward the Roman Forum

 

Back roads to the Forum

 

There is nothing like 1000 years of weathering to add character to your day

 

Moving into the circus that is the center of Rome

 

Just before the Forum

 

The Roman forum. It is still being excavated.

 

The Roman Senate used to meet here to make the laws of the empire

 

More than 60 percent of ancient Rome is still buried under the modern city

 

 

One of many naked men in Rome.

 

Vittoriano (right across the street from Trajan's column).

 

Trajan's column. There are more than 2000 carved figures depicting the story of Trajan's Dacian wars between 101-102 and 105-106 A.D.

I just call it the big wang.

 

This was just an average church we walked into, St. Ignazio. We left a few Euros in the Mafia donation box.

 

An average ceiling in Rome

 

Outside the Pantheon

 

 

Fountain outside the Pantheon

 

Inside the Pantheon.

 

The Trevi fountain. We each threw 3 coins in the fountain...

 

Throwing 3 coins in the fountain ensures a prompt return to Rome....or so they say... hopefully it's true!

 

 

A menu outside Mario's restaurante. Every resturante in Italy has the menu displayed outside

 

A view while walking around looking for dinner

 

We stumbled in here for dinner. It was easily the best food we had on our trip. I got the Ravioli and Heather had ziti. No English is spoken here and I think the waiter was also the owner and chef.

 

The Coliseum at night. The sixth arch from the bottom left is where we sat on new years eve.

 

At night we had the Coliseum all to ourselves, still drinking our bottle of wine from dinner. (yes, this is legal there)

 

Heineken in a vending machine on the side of the road.

 

Some butterfly magnets Heather bought off a street merchant that night.

 

Night view out the hotel window.

 

The next day we headed over to Basilica di San Pietro (St. Peter's Basilica). AKA mafia headquarters

 

There was a long long line to get in with metal detectors at the end. Just about every person set of the metal detector as they walked through. The guards just smiled and let you in.

 

The center window is where the Godfather comes out.

 

Heather at St Peters Basilica

 

Inside the Basilica. The largest church in the world

 

Pietá, by Michelangelo, is the ultimate attraction at St. Peter's.

 

Inside the Basilica

 

This dome is directly above the crypt of St. Peter and where the Pope conducts mass.

 

The dome above the nave.

 

The main altar (located just above the crypt of St. Peter). We were there on the same day that the Pope conducted New Year's mass.

 

This dome depicts heaven, although it's hard to see in this picture.

 

The Spanish Steps. Ultra touristy. These guys are waiting to gawk at a woman passing by, I'll bet.

 

Another Bernini fountain located at the Spanish Steps.

 

Horse-drawn carriages at the Spanish Steps.

 

An avenue near the Spanish Steps.

 

The Smart cars are just that....very smart to have in the city!

We saw hundreds of smart cars on our trip. This was my favorite one.

 

Side view of the Pantheon.

 

Ruins at the forum (at dusk)

 

More ruins ...we're on the non-touristy side. We tried to take back roads as often as possible.

 

Coliseum at night

 

Both of us on New Years Eve. The cars are streaking past.

 

Heather at the Coliseum on New Year's eve.

 

Mark wearing his new Venetian mask.

 

Getting ready to open the champagne 11:58pm.

 

Happy New Year!

Down the hatch!

Partying at the Coliseum for New Years. Way to bring in 2006!

 

Firework smoke in the air.

 

This is how Heather looked after a bottle of champagne. (I was shaking my head with the crazy mask on)

 

Final look at Rome from inside our shuttle. Gate 1 truly rocks!

 

4:00 am New year's day. The "plane of hell". Al italia is not my favorite airline. Our heads were two feet from the engines, we entered through the tail end, and it was 100 ° F in there!

 

 

Arrivederci, Italy ....we'll see you again soon!