Italy: Florence and Bologna

After arriving in Florence on a train from the Amalfi Coast region, we were immediately taken by the charming, yellow Tuscan homes and the maze of narrow, cobblestone city streets. Packed to the gills with street markets and Renaissance treasures, Florence is a very walkable city situated along the Arno River. After wandering around the streets a bit, we crossed the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge, a 14th-century walking bridge lined with jewelry stores. (The bridge was flanked with butcher shops centuries ago, which were replaced when the Medici family deemed them too smelly.) After a long walk through Tuscan neighborhoods south of the city center, we found ourselves at the Piazzale Michelangelo overlooking the city’s skyline. This Piazzale also includes a replica of Michelangelo’s David statue. The original David, finished 1504, is just on the other side of the Arno river in the Galleria dell Academia museum.

Florence, or Firenze in Italian, is full of piazzas, which are excellent for people watching. One of our favorites was the famous Piazza del Duomo, home to the red, green and white marble Duomo cathedral, known as one of the largest in the world. No matter how far we stepped back, we could not fit the whole church in our photos.

We really enjoyed quaint Florence, but after just one night we headed north to Bolgona. Bologna is one of Italy’s most famous food destinations; tortellini, lasagna, and bolognese sauce (ragu) were all invented there. Despite the bitter cold and snow on the ground, we spent the day walking around the city’s main plaza, Piazza Maggiore, the street markets and escaped the cold for lunch in an Italian café complete with loud, arguing locals.

From Bologna we took a train to Ancona, Italy on the east coast. There, we caught an overnight ferry across the Adriatic Sea to Split, Croatia!

Italy: Amalfi Coast es Bellisimo

As soon as we arrived in the sleepy town of Piano di Sorrento, we knew we were in for an authentic experience. EVERYTHING was closed in the afternoon for siesta, and everybody knew everybody. But we did our best to blend in with the locals, eating salami paninis with fresh mozzarella and loading up on Italian cookies from the market. Our quiet B&B kept us well-caffeinated and warm with Limoncello, the region’s specialty.

The real action came the following day when we boarded a bus to explore the Amalfi coast, a 50-km stretch of magnificent Mediterranean beauty. The extremely steep, incredibly narrow and admittedly terrifying road along the coast would have had our mothers clamoring for blindfolds, and rosary beads, but the scenery was epic. Throughout the day we visited three towns, all nestled tightly along the gorgeous coast: Amalfi is the laid-back main hub, Ravello is the tiny, dreamy mountaintop town overlooks the Mediterranean, and Positano is the steep and glamorous gem for the wealthy. We loved them all, and has an unforgettable day taking in the atmosphere and gawking at the homes and hotel stacked right along the steep cliffs.

Following the Amalfi Coast, our plan was to cross Southern Italy by train to catch a ferry to Croatia. Our ferry, however, was cancelled days in advance due to “bad weather“ in the Adriatic Sea. So, we hopped on a train to Florence instead and plan to catch a ferry later in the week. Arrivederci!

Italy: When in Rome

Ahhhh, Rome: Romance. Ruins. Red Wine. Pizza. (Lots of Pizza.) We arrived in Italy’s epic and expensive capital on Friday, fresh off our love affair with Santorini. We spent three days in the distinctly European Rome, seeing the sites, wandering the narrow, winding streets and milling around the many piazzas marveling at the locals’ caffeine intake. The many sites in Rome, which the Italians called Roma, are all accessible by walking, which allowed us to take in the smells and sounds (mostly very loud talking) of the busy city.

Although exact years are debatable, as is everything in Italy, apparently, Rome was founded under the first king, Romulus, in 753 BC. Given that, we set out to see some old stuff, including the crowded Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palentine Hill. Our favorite site in Rome, though, was the beautiful Pantheon, a 2000-year old temple that now serves as a church. Appropriately, we ate some pizza near the fountain in front of the Pantheon and watched the animated Italians chat the afternoon hours away. Later in the day, we threw precious Euro coins in the famous Trevi Fountain. On average 3,000 Euros are tossed each day by tourists like us! We finished the day at the Piazza di Spagna and Spanish Steps.

On Sunday, we hiked along the Tiber River to the Vatican across town. The huge crowd walking in the other direction indicated that we missed the Pope’s weekly Sunday blessing by mere minutes, but we hung out in busy St. Peter’s Square anyway, which was a fantastic place, ate some pizza in a café nearby and then wandered through the awe-inspiring St. Peter’s Basilica.

After a busy few days in Rome, we boarded an early morning train to Naples, where transferred to a local train heading southward to the iconic Amalfi Coast.

Greece: Santorini

One of the real highlights of our trip so far was the four days we spent relaxing on Santorini, arguably the most stunning Greek Island. In about 1650 BC, a huge volcanic explosion cause the center of the island to sink, producing a caldera that was then filled in by ocean water. Santorini, called “Thira” by the Greeks, is c-shaped and layers of lava are visible from the seemingly endless cliff top views that stretch across the island. Small towns are built into these cliff tops, others are nestled along the black and red sand beaches that line the coast. It is an incredibly charming island that we will undoubtedly return to at some point. Just wandering around the cliffs to take in the views was an entertaining way to pass the day. Our cameras were clicking non-stop.

The day after we arrived, we rented a small car to buzz around the island. We had fun exploring the beaches and towns from one end to the other, stopping for a sunset in the village Oia. Since it’s the off-season, the island was quiet; we occasionally felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.

Our Greek improved a little thanks to some friendly locals at our excellent hotel, which was in the island’s main town, Fira. We tried Greek coffee (never again) and drank plenty of wine and Ouzo. We ate ALL of our meals at a small taverna down the road. The gyros were so good we couldn’t bring ourselves to try anywhere else. We will miss them - and all of Greece - dearly.

Greece: Athens

From London we flew to Athens, Greece, one of the world’s most historic destinations. Athens is a sprawling metropolis of 3.7 million people. We stayed right in the heart of the city in an area called Monastiraki. The majority of our time was spent wandering around Athens’ old winding streets, which are chock-full of tavernas, cafes and character. We ate gyros like they were going out of style, lazily lingered over tasty sangria and made the Greeks roll their eyes with our attempts to speak the language.

Our big tourist activity in Athens was an afternoon at Acropolis, one of the most important ancient monuments in the world. Acropolis was inhabited in Neolithic times, and the first temples on the site were built in homage to the goddess Athena during the Mycenaean era. In other words, the structures in Acropolis are wicked old. As you’ll see in the photos, some of them, including the Parthenon (completed in 438 BC!) were in the process of being restored. Wandering around Acropolis and taking in the views overlooking Athens was an awesome experience, and a great start to the Mediterranean Europe leg of our trip.