Trip to Italy 2007

What could be better than a 2 week trip to Italy? -----Nothing that we could think of.

For Tony's Graduation in May 2007 we were blessed to be able to take a 2 week trip to Italy.



We landed in Milan (Northern Italy) on a late Sunday evening and holed up in a small but cheap hotel called Hotel Roma for 2 nights. Luckily for both of us, Tony remembered his Italian and was a fluent, lifesaving translator. (Lesson: People like us cannot afford to shop in Milan.)

In our opinion, Milan was nice. However, we found that the farther south we went, the friendlier the Italians got.

On Tuesday morning, we took the Eurostar train to Florence. What an amazing city with so much art we didn't have near enough time to see it all. Tony was a little disappointed with Florence because there were too many English speaking people.

We only spent 1 day in Florence and took an overnight train to Lecce. We quickly found out that we love gelato, with or without the brioche. (Lesson: the more expensive sleeper trains are terribly uncomfortable and not worth the money.)

We had now entered Tony's mission area. Tony served in Lecce at the beginning of his mission and was excited to be there again. Italians call it the "Florence of the South" and boy was it beautiful!! (Lesson: Stay away from Tourist Traps. Go where the locals go!)

When we were planning this trip, we decided to play it by ear and not book any hotels. So when we arrived in Lecce we visited the local tourist office. We told them what we were looking for and what we wanted to pay, and Andre set us up in a quaint apartment within walking distance from all the sites. (Lesson: Playing it by ear can be stressful, but in the end is a lot more fun!)

Our 2nd day there, we ran into Mario who was a painter Tony met while on his mission in Lecce. What was even more amazing is that Mario was still painting at 80 years old. We couldn't leave without one of his paintings, and he practically gave it to us!

On Thursday night we took another night train across the toe of the boot and then a ferry to Sicily. (Lesson: The basic, cheap trains that look like the Harry Potter trains are much more comfortable to sleep in at night and are very affordable.)

Taormina is the Palm Beach of Sicily without the people! It was the most beautiful place I have been. Just an old, small town located 2 thousand feet straight up from the coast of Southern Sicilia next to the active volcano Mt. Etna.

Again, we visited the local tourist office and were able to stay in the cutest bed and breakfast with a view overlooking the whole city. This was one of our favorite places. We would definitely come back here. (Lesson: Bed and breakfasts are the best places to stay while in Italy.)

On Saturday morning, we took the bus across Sicily to the large city of Palermo. (Most conquerored city in the whole world). Grateful to find vacancy in a cheap hotel there (it was election week), we immediately set off on a walk to find the local LDS chapel. (Lesson: The tourist office is not open on the weekends.)

Tony had spent a lot of his mission here, and we were looking forward to tracking down members. However, we forgot to bring any phone numbers with us. After praying that we would find when and where the members met, we literally ran into 13 missionaries who were giving street presentations in one of the piazzas we were walking through. (Lesson: The church is true! Prayer works!)

After church on Sunday, we spent the evening at the Albenese Family's home. They were so generous. We miss them! (Lesson: Italians love good food and they want to share a lot of the food with you!)

We visited the Cathedral of Montreale, the Cappuccini Catacombs, Teatro Massimo, and numerous street markets during our stay in Palermo. Tony bought a very handsome suit from a tailor he had visited when on his mission. (Lesson: Tony feels like a giant in Italy. Definitely the tallest man I saw there!)

When we boarded the Cruise ship destined for Naples on Monday night, we knew that we would definitely visit Palermo again someday. (Lesson: The fancy cruise ship taking us overnight to Naples was cheaper than a train ticket there!!)

We arrived in Naples at 6am on Tuesday morning and walked from the port to the train station in about 1 hour. (Lesson: Naples is not a safe city. Watch your belongings.)

In the interest of time, we did not spend time in Naples, but took a train that morning to Rome so we could spend our last 3 days there. After visiting the local tourist office, we ended up staying at a great little hostel (Colors Hotel) close to the Vatican. (Lesson: You can find hostels with private rooms and bathrooms.)

We were able to visit just about everything in Rome, and loved it! The Vatican museum was amazing. If we were to spend 1 minute looking at each piece of artwork there, it would take us over 18 years to see everything in the museum.

We walked all over Rome. We loved the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, and all the different churches and cathedrals. The best was dinner at Baffetto's. So good we went there twice! Our last place to visit was St. Paul's Cathedral. I do have to say the Catholic Church sure knows how to make something grand. It was beautiful.

We arrived at the Rome airport on Friday afternoon and found out our flight was cancelled because our airline Alitalia was on strike. After being re-routed to Germany, staying overnight in Frankfurt, and a layover in Newark, we arrived home. Tired but happy. (Lesson: Lufthansa is the best airline ever!!!)