Lugano (July 21-July 24, 2011)

We made a stopover in Lugano, Switzerland on our way from Venice to Lucerne. Located in the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland, it’s a small, picturesque town situated on the shores of beautiful Lake Lugano in the lake-dotted southern foothills of the Swiss Alps (famous neighbors include Lake Como and Lake Maggiore). We spent our short time here exploring the town, swimming, and hiking back to town after taking a ‘funicolare’ to the top of Monte San Salvatore (912m) for fabulous views of the lake and surrounding mountains (we could even see as far as Milan).

Click the photo below for our Lugano photo album.

Venice: With a Little Help from Our Friends (July 17-July 21, 2011)

We capped off our time in Italy with four nights in Venice thanks to our friend Deron. With his sons, Nicholas and Alexander, Deron had rented an apartment there for a week as part of their European vacation and graciously invited us to stay with them. As soon as our train from Bologna crossed the Laguna Veneto and arrived on the island, we knew we had arrived in a magical and unique city. We are tremendously grateful to Deron and his sons for allowing us to crash the end of their month-long adventure.

The afternoon we arrived we joined Deron, Nicholas, and Alexander in exploring Venice on foot. It was the second day of the Festa del Redentore (Feast of the Redeemer), which celebrates the end of the plague in 1576. As part of the festivities, a floating bridge had been erected for only 24 hours connecting the Dorsoduro district of the main island to the Redentore church on the island of La Giudecca. We ventured across, visited the church, explored the island, and admired the views back toward Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s square) before heading back to the apartment to watch the Women’s World Cup final (what a frustrating loss!).

On our subsequent days in Venice we visited the island of Murano, known for its glassblowing (where we barely resisted the urge to buy an extremely fragile souvenir); toured the Canale Grande and the outskirts of the city by vaporetto; explored the Basilica di San Marco while huddled with Deron around an iPod listening to Rick Steves’ free audio tour; learned about Venetian history and art at the Museo Correr; explored the private chambers and dungeon’s of Venice’s Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s palace); and happily sampled the local cuisine (pizza, pasta, pastries, and a Venetian specialty – the Spritz: aperol, white wine, and sparkling water).

We took advantage of the apartment, too, making coffee and breakfast in the mornings, cooking a big dinner one night, and spending most evenings at the kitchen table drinking beer and playing cards. While we thoroughly enjoyed our time here, even four days wasn’t enough to see all of Venice and we left a lot of museums and neighborhoods unseen (and gelato uneaten)! We look forward to going back but are indebted to Deron and his sons for helping us make Venice one of the stops on our around the world trip!

Click the photo below for our Venice photo album.

Bologna (July 15-July 17, 2011)

We spent just two days in Bologna on our way from the Gulf of Naples to Venice, but could easily have spent more time in this city known for its medieval architecture, rich food, and university (founded in 1088 it is Europe’s oldest). We spent our short time here meandering down the streets and soaking up the architecture – so different from that of Rome or southern Italy. The city is full of covered arcades (38 km of them, according to our guide book), has a beautiful central plaza (Piazza Maggiore) and basilica (San Petronio), and the views from the Due Torri (Two Towers), leaning ominously in opposite directions, were spectacular. We also treated ourselves to a nice meal that included, of course, a Spaghetti Bolognese.

Click the photo below for our Bologna photo album.

The Gulf of Naples and Amalfi Coast: That's Amore (July 11-July 15, 2011)

From Rome we headed south to the Gulf of Naples to meet Patrick’s friend Jon, the captain of a charter sailboat that was docked at the town of Castellammare di Stabia for the month of July. The journey there was more difficult than we expected, as our train from Rome broke down several times, and we missed our connecting train in Naples. When we finally made it to town several hours late, it took John and his girlfriend Eva nearly two hours to find us because we were dropped off at a little known station in town (the agent at the main station even told Jon that there was no other station). When they did find us, they took us back to the boat and made us a delicious dinner of fresh salad, fresh bread, and a huge slab of fresh mozzarella di buffalo.

The following day we rented scooters and rode up to the top of the mountain (Monte Faito) overlooking Castellammare di Stabia for a spectacular view of the Gulf of Naples and Vesuvius, and then rode to the Amalfi Coast – truly one of the most breathtaking places either of us has ever seen. The coastline there is dramatic, and dotted with picturesque towns whose yellow and pink buildings give off a warm, inviting glow at sunset. We stopped along the coast first at Positano for coffee and a swim in the refreshingly cool and clear waters of the Mediterranean, and then at Amalfi for dinner and drinks. The next day we rode up and down to the coast, leisurely working our way back to Castellammare di Stabia, while making time to stop at the Grotta dello Smeraldo (a beautiful sea cave with a strange tour), at a beach for another swim and a seaside lunch, and for several coffee breaks (of course). It was really wonderful spending two days with Jon and Eva, made more special by the setting.

We also made an excursion to Pompeii. The ruins there, unlike their dismantled counterparts in Rome, preserve daily life in the Roman empire: well-worn carriage tracks are clearly visible in the stone-paved roads; there are political ads painted on buildings; shelves and terracotta food vessels sit in shop fronts suggesting their former wares; the brothel walls are covered with suggestive paintings providing a “menu” for the non-Latin speaking customers. Though the destruction caused by Vesuvius is also on display in the form of casts of people and animals in their last moments of life, the city has been recreated to focus on life before the eruption, and we left with a better understanding of life in the Roman empire, not just that fateful day nearly 2,000 years ago.

Click the photo below for our Gulf of Naples and Amalfi Coast photo album.

Rome (July 8-July 11, 2011)

We were very excited to arrive in Rome. After three weeks in Morocco we were ready to be back in Europe and in a country less foreign to us. In particular, we were really looking forward to the food. So, on our first night in the city, we made food our top priority with dinner at Pizzeria da Baffetto followed by gelato at San Crispino – the places listed in our guidebook as some of the best pizza and best gelato that Rome has to offer. Neither disappointed and afterward we knew we would be eating well in Italy.

We spent our first full day in Rome visiting the Vatican. The Vatican Museum houses a staggeringly large and impressive collection that includes works by Raphael and, of course, the Sistine Chapel. At times it was hard not to feel overwhelmed by the large crowds or that the collection was a bit ostentatious. After passing through the Sistine Chapel, however, the crowds dissipated and we were able to enjoy the collection of modern art – including works by Van Gogh and Dali – at our own pace. The Vatican’s basilica, St. Peter’s, was beautiful (and opulent), but at times felt more like a museum than a peaceful place of quiet prayer or worship.

Our second, and sadly last, full day in Rome was set aside for the Roman ruins: the Colosseum, Palatine, and Forum. All three were as spectacular as we imagined. In the Colosseum, our guide painted a detailed picture of the extravagance and excess that occurred there. The full- or multi-day affairs, often sponsored by politicians, included exotic wild animals (many from northern Africa, including Volubilis, which we described in an earlier post), extravagant props and stage effects or convicts being publicly executed in gruesome ways, all before the gladiators took the stage and fought for their lives (and sometimes their freedom). On the hill overlooking the Colosseum sit the ruins of the Palatine, ancient Rome’s most upscale neighborhood, and home to Nero and before that Romulus. Though much of this area was buried, built over, or plundered, the intricate granite and tile floors and walls of many of the buildings still suggest the neighborhood’s former elegance and wealth. Back down the hill, adjacent to the Colosseum sit the ruins of the Forum, the public center of Ancient Rome. Here we walked down the cobbled streets, past former markets and shops, churches, and civic buildings. Looking up to the Palatine and down toward the Colosseum, you have a clear sense of the extravagant, bustling city Ancient Rome must have been.

Our stay in Rome also included a visit to the Pantheon, the city’s best preserved ruin (still in use after nearly 2,000 years), and the Trevi Fountain, where we threw coins to ensure our return, not to mention a lot of pizza and gelato. Two of our favorite places were Pizzarium and Old Bridge – both worth a stop if you visit!

Click the photo below for our Rome photo album.