So, it's been a long few days since I last posted! Picking up where I left off...
On Friday, July 14 Mom and I decided to spend our last day at the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. Other than the Pantheon, these are some of the most ancient bits of the Roman Empire, and some of my favorites. I think Mom enjoyed them too! After a super-hot day in the sun we cleaned up and went out for our last meal in Italy... pasta, of course!! Then we took the evening to pack up so we could get an early start to the airport. Moms flew out early, so we said our goodbyes at 7am (Italy time) and she spent the next 20-hours or so traveling home to Wisconsin (and made it safe!).
I flew out a bit later and arrived to Dublin in the early afternoon. The very first thing that I noticed was how cooooooold it was there! Dublin was 30-degrees colder than Rome! The second thing I noticed was that understanding Irish-English was not as easy as expected (although it gets better fast)! Anyway, I caught the bus (where a random local confessed that he hated Guinness and preferred Miller), found my hotel, and climbed under the down comforter to keep from freezing to death (actually, it was just for a nap!). After waking up I decided to wander around and found the city to be beautiful, the locals to be very friendly, everything to be very pedestrian friendly. I had a sandwich in O'Neills, one of the oldest pubs in the city (300+ years) then went home to bed.
The next day, Sunday, I caught a city bus tour and spent a lazy day hopping off at a few places. I saw St. Stevens Green (an awesome park in the middle of the city), several very cool churches, the shopping district (including a store called "knobs and knockers" and several "TK Maxx'"), Trinity College, and Temple Bar (the bar/restaurant area of the city. After a lot of walking, I went out for a late dinner at a pub and had amazing steak and Guinness pie, then I slept like a baby!
Monday I took a tour of Kilmainham Gaol (jail). It is a pretty important part of Irish history and was very interesting. Did a little more wandering around, had more steak and Guinness pie (YUUM) and a Guinness (eeeeeeew) for dinner, then packed up to head out of town the next morning.
On Tuesday I left Dublin and caught the train up to Coleraine, on the NE coast of Northern Ireland. I was met at the station by one of my very best friends from high school whom I haven't seen in about 14-years!! Marianne and her daughters were staying in Coleraine for a few days so I joined them. Tuesday night we walked along the Giants Causeway which is an incredible natural wonder! Once the girls went to bed we had some wine and caught up on life.
On Wednesday we drove down to Belfast. We took a cool bus tour where I learner that I really need to brush up on Irish history! Did you know that Belfast still has and uses "peace walls" to keep the protistant and catholics separated?!! After dinner Marianne took me out to a few Irish bars which were very fun and exactly what I envisioned!
Yesterday, Thursday, we went to the Titanic museum. The Titanic was built in Belfast. I was amused that they said that the ship was in perfect condition when they gave it to the English captain, so the sinking wasn't their fault! In the afternoon we hopped on a ferry and headed to Scotland. It was a few hours drive to Edinburgh, where Marianne and her family live, so I got to see some of the beautiful Scottish country. It has been a very rainy summer here for them, but hopefully the weather clears up for the next few days so we can enjoy our time together!
Friday, July 20, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
***Jenni and MOM take Rome!
From Jenni and her mom, Cindy:
(Sorry for the change of format, but we are on a Kindle now)
On Sunday, July 8, Jenni's mom, Cindy, came to join Jenni and Amy and embark on her own short Italian adventure! After a well-deserved nap and shower, all three of us went out for a fancy dinner at a wine bar (...called "Wine Bar"). It was a dinner to jointly celebrate the end of an exciting summer for Amy (who was scheduled to leave soon) and the arrival of Cindy. After dinner we walked up the Spanish Steps and enjoyed a beautiful stroll home along a path that has gorgeous views of the city.
On Monday we jumped an early train to the city of Pisa. After finding the correct bus to the famous basilica and campanile (aka, the leaning tower) we had some lunch and entered the grounds of the church. Although the tower is at the far end of the grounds behind a large baptistery building and the beautiful basilica, it is the very first thing you notice because it looks as though it is about to go over at any moment! After some tourist photos (of course, we HAD to take them!) we toured the basilica and found that it appears that many pieces of it (inside and out) had been "borrowed" (maybe without permission) from other churches... None of the columns matched, the stained glass windows had no real theme, some of the stones even had parts of words carved on them from their original site! The baptistery (we guess that's where they baptise people) looked like a pretty normal (by Italian church standards) churchy place, until they gave an echo demonstration. One guy came in and started singing various notes. His voice perfectly echoed within the round, domed room until he sounded like a whole choir! It was as beautiful as it was amazing!
Bright and early on Tuesday morning Amy had to leave for the US. Jenni helped her get to the train station where she started the rest of her looooong journey home. (She made it safe and hopefully posts an update soon!)
Tuesday Jenni and Cindy spent the day at the Vatican. After a walk through the Vatican Museums we saw the amazing Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Basilica. Cindy was impressed by the grandeur of it all: the size of the basilica, the amount of gold leaf, the number of art pieces, etc. We took a quick (and HOT) ride home and then got ready for a night at the opera. We saw a nice performance of famous Italian pieces then enjoyed a delicious gelato on the way home while watching the crowd from on the Spanish Steps.
On Wednesday, Jenni wanted to walk Cindy around some of the nearby sites. First stop, the Trevi Fountain. Cindy was impressed by the beauty and size of the fountain and both took a moment to throw in a coin to ensure their safe return to Rome in the future. The second stop was the Pantheon. Cindy said it was "awesome" and thought it was an architectural wonder. The third stop was Piazza Navona. After people watching for awhile we headed home for the night. It was a long day of walking!
Today, Thursday, we decided to catch a hop-on-hop-off tour of the city. We drove by the Roman Forum and the Colosseum (which got us excited for our tour tomorrow!) then "hopped off" near the Mouth of Truth. The legend is that the jaws of the mouth will snap shut and bite off the hand of a liar. We have both survived having our hand in the mouth... whew! Next we stopped by the capitoline area to check out a great view of the forum and to see a super old church before jumping back on our bus. On the way home we enjoyed a sunset over the Vatican.
Tomorrow we get to see another amazing part of Roman history, but other than that, the sad time has come to start preparing to leave Rome... doing laundry, washing dishes, eating all the left over food... It is sad (but still exciting and fun) time for Jenni. Next stop for Cindy, America. Next stops for Jenni, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.
(Sorry for the change of format, but we are on a Kindle now)
On Sunday, July 8, Jenni's mom, Cindy, came to join Jenni and Amy and embark on her own short Italian adventure! After a well-deserved nap and shower, all three of us went out for a fancy dinner at a wine bar (...called "Wine Bar"). It was a dinner to jointly celebrate the end of an exciting summer for Amy (who was scheduled to leave soon) and the arrival of Cindy. After dinner we walked up the Spanish Steps and enjoyed a beautiful stroll home along a path that has gorgeous views of the city.
On Monday we jumped an early train to the city of Pisa. After finding the correct bus to the famous basilica and campanile (aka, the leaning tower) we had some lunch and entered the grounds of the church. Although the tower is at the far end of the grounds behind a large baptistery building and the beautiful basilica, it is the very first thing you notice because it looks as though it is about to go over at any moment! After some tourist photos (of course, we HAD to take them!) we toured the basilica and found that it appears that many pieces of it (inside and out) had been "borrowed" (maybe without permission) from other churches... None of the columns matched, the stained glass windows had no real theme, some of the stones even had parts of words carved on them from their original site! The baptistery (we guess that's where they baptise people) looked like a pretty normal (by Italian church standards) churchy place, until they gave an echo demonstration. One guy came in and started singing various notes. His voice perfectly echoed within the round, domed room until he sounded like a whole choir! It was as beautiful as it was amazing!
Bright and early on Tuesday morning Amy had to leave for the US. Jenni helped her get to the train station where she started the rest of her looooong journey home. (She made it safe and hopefully posts an update soon!)
Tuesday Jenni and Cindy spent the day at the Vatican. After a walk through the Vatican Museums we saw the amazing Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Basilica. Cindy was impressed by the grandeur of it all: the size of the basilica, the amount of gold leaf, the number of art pieces, etc. We took a quick (and HOT) ride home and then got ready for a night at the opera. We saw a nice performance of famous Italian pieces then enjoyed a delicious gelato on the way home while watching the crowd from on the Spanish Steps.
On Wednesday, Jenni wanted to walk Cindy around some of the nearby sites. First stop, the Trevi Fountain. Cindy was impressed by the beauty and size of the fountain and both took a moment to throw in a coin to ensure their safe return to Rome in the future. The second stop was the Pantheon. Cindy said it was "awesome" and thought it was an architectural wonder. The third stop was Piazza Navona. After people watching for awhile we headed home for the night. It was a long day of walking!
Today, Thursday, we decided to catch a hop-on-hop-off tour of the city. We drove by the Roman Forum and the Colosseum (which got us excited for our tour tomorrow!) then "hopped off" near the Mouth of Truth. The legend is that the jaws of the mouth will snap shut and bite off the hand of a liar. We have both survived having our hand in the mouth... whew! Next we stopped by the capitoline area to check out a great view of the forum and to see a super old church before jumping back on our bus. On the way home we enjoyed a sunset over the Vatican.
Tomorrow we get to see another amazing part of Roman history, but other than that, the sad time has come to start preparing to leave Rome... doing laundry, washing dishes, eating all the left over food... It is sad (but still exciting and fun) time for Jenni. Next stop for Cindy, America. Next stops for Jenni, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Ahhh, Venice...
We got back from Venice yesterday (our last mini trip of our summer). There isn't a ton to do in Venice, but plenty to see and more than enough to buy!
Monday afternoon after checking in to our room (we actually stayed in Venice Mestres, the closest city on the mainland) we rode the train into the city. Most people know that Venice is built on islands and that people use boats to get to and from places on small canals but what you think you know does not compare to what you actually see. Once off the train at the station the only form of transportation is boat or your own two feet.
We walked around city until arriving in St. Mark's Square where there is a beautiful church (St. Mark's basilica), a tall campanile, and plenty of little shops. Near the Grand Canal is the famous Bridge of Sighs. On one side of the bridge is the court house and on the other is the prison. The bridge connecting the two buildings is where it is said that the prisoners took a sigh wishing for their freedom, before being locked up.
The following day we returned to St. Mark's Square to go to the top of the campanile. From there, Venice looked like one large city but if you looked close enough you could find a few main canals. When looking around from the top it is possible to see the Adriatic Sea surround the entire cluster of islands.
Afterwords we took an authentic gondola ride which is designed to show you the lesser touristic areas of the city. (And yes, our gondolier was dressed in dark pants with a blue and white stripped shirt!) Our time ended with a nice dinner after stopping in many of the shops!
On the 4th of July we rode the train back to Rome while sporting our red, white, and blue! It was hard for both of us to be away from family and friends during the holiday weekend but found plenty of other proud Americans here in Rome wearing their patriotism on their sleeves (literally... And their shorts too!)
Now we are spending the next few days revisiting a few favorite places again and a few more on the "still to see" list before our time in Rome comes to an end. We are filling our days (and out bellies) with plenty of pasta and even more gelato before we need to leave this beautiful city.
Pictures:
1) Us on our gondola ride
2) the Bridge of Sighs
3) Grand Canal
4) Entering the Grand Canal on our gondola ride
5) St. Mark's basilica
6) parked gondolas
7) Happy Birthday America!
Monday afternoon after checking in to our room (we actually stayed in Venice Mestres, the closest city on the mainland) we rode the train into the city. Most people know that Venice is built on islands and that people use boats to get to and from places on small canals but what you think you know does not compare to what you actually see. Once off the train at the station the only form of transportation is boat or your own two feet.
We walked around city until arriving in St. Mark's Square where there is a beautiful church (St. Mark's basilica), a tall campanile, and plenty of little shops. Near the Grand Canal is the famous Bridge of Sighs. On one side of the bridge is the court house and on the other is the prison. The bridge connecting the two buildings is where it is said that the prisoners took a sigh wishing for their freedom, before being locked up.
The following day we returned to St. Mark's Square to go to the top of the campanile. From there, Venice looked like one large city but if you looked close enough you could find a few main canals. When looking around from the top it is possible to see the Adriatic Sea surround the entire cluster of islands.
Afterwords we took an authentic gondola ride which is designed to show you the lesser touristic areas of the city. (And yes, our gondolier was dressed in dark pants with a blue and white stripped shirt!) Our time ended with a nice dinner after stopping in many of the shops!
On the 4th of July we rode the train back to Rome while sporting our red, white, and blue! It was hard for both of us to be away from family and friends during the holiday weekend but found plenty of other proud Americans here in Rome wearing their patriotism on their sleeves (literally... And their shorts too!)
Now we are spending the next few days revisiting a few favorite places again and a few more on the "still to see" list before our time in Rome comes to an end. We are filling our days (and out bellies) with plenty of pasta and even more gelato before we need to leave this beautiful city.
Pictures:
1) Us on our gondola ride
2) the Bridge of Sighs
3) Grand Canal
4) Entering the Grand Canal on our gondola ride
5) St. Mark's basilica
6) parked gondolas
7) Happy Birthday America!
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