To Italy and Back

Well we're finally home from vacation with a chance to update. We got home Tuesday night, which was actually a great idea since that left us with only a 3 day work week.

To make a long story short, the vacation was fantastic! Traveling with friends is really a true pleasure. We made tons of memories with Marc and Michele that I am sure we'll hold on forever.
We met Marc and Michele at the airport when we arrived to Rome and quickly took the train down to Naples. We checked into the hotel Weekend-a-Napoli. A really cute boutique hotel in the Vomero Hill. This neighborhood was great! I love Naples! There is something about Naples that seems so authentic and real and much less metropolitan than Rome.


After leaving Rome, we headed down to the Amalfi Coast. A full day of traveling and walking we finally checked into the villa. The villa was beautiful with much more space than we actually needed. The downside for me was seeing that the villa was not as outfitted as the other villa we stayed at in 2007. Lucky for Marc and Michele they didnt really notice the difference and it just made one more thing we joked about. During the time on the Amlafi Coast we:

• Rented scooters for an amazing ride up and down the Amalfi Coast
• Rode the SITA bus to Salerno just for fun
• Walked 400 steps down to a restaurant that was closed
• Took a cooking class with Mamma Agata
• Michele and Marc walked the path of the gods
• Visited local restaurants in Amalfi and Positano
• Drank espresso at bar del sole in Praiano
• Had a week long Buzzword competition
• Tried many versions of Limoncello looking for the best
• Ate the most wonderful seafood twice at Larry's restaurant
• Drank wine, wine, and more wine

After that week, it was hard to start moving again and head down to Rome. We rushed to get to Rome by 2:30. We had booked a tour at the Vatican. If we didnt make that tour, the Vatican would have been closed for the next two days for holiday. We made it! It was great. I highly recommend a tour of the Vatican Museo and the Sistine Chapel. Our tour guide happened to be from Indiana and Saint Mary's girl! Small world. She taught us tons about the Vatican and it was great to have some background on all the history.

We stayed in the Trastevere section of Rome and rented an apartment. This was the biggest win of the vacation in my opinion. This apartment was simple but classy and had everything we needed. But the real gem was the neighborhood it was in. It was a block away from a daily outside market and the sidewalks were just loaded with restaurants and cafes. It was so fun. I could have stayed there forever! It was so livable. If we go back we'll definatly be staying in the jewel of the Trastevere.

For Easter we went down to celebrate with the Pope at the Vatican. The Pope only addresses the crowd twice a year, so this was really special. It wasnt as busy as we thought it would be and it was really cool.

All in all Rome was great. It continues to be one of my favorite cities in the whole world. I know we'll be back, we still have to see the northen part of Rome!

To see more pictures of the vacation visit our Flickr Page.