Italian Holiday

It has been a while since our last story and we apologise to anyone who wondered if we were still alive (thanks for the calls). We have been so busy with work and things that life has been a bit of a blur lately and the updates on this site have fallen to the bottom of the list of things we should do. But, we have lots of stories to tell about what we've been up to. Our biggest trip of the year was Italy, it was kind of like our Christmas holidays but in August and it was the best trip we have ever experienced.

We got to go to Italy for a ten day country coach tour not only in the middle of summer, but in the middle of one of the hottest summers in Italy for some time. It was cooking! 42 degrees C was more than enough heat for us so lots of cold drinks, not much movement and shade dwelling was on the cards where possible.

We flew into the capitol of Rome where we departed to our first destination - the Pompei Ruins. This was a fully functioning 2000 year old city petrified by a volcanic eruption. It was almost frozen in time and caught all of its occupants by surprise with bodies found in mid stride. The city was endless, absolutely huge and is still being dug up today. Unfortunately this place was a little too hot for one of the older ladies on our trip who fainted from heat stroke and we spent the remainder of this tour fanning her and trying to translate from English to Italian using only hand gestures with the paramedic's. After she was taken care of, we had a quick run through and some fast photography just to say we were here and off we went to the waiting bus.

Our next destination was the clifftop town of Sorento where we had lunch on a local farm where we had homemade mozzarella and lemon liqueur. Then a walk into town where we browsed the stores and marvelled at the views. After our day out it was time to head off to catch the boat over to the Isle of Capri where we would be staying for the next 2 nights.

The Isle of Capri was stunning. Its kind of flash though and there were paparazzi permanently camped there just waiting for celebrities to turn up. Elton John made their day when he went out to dinner in his salmon evening suit. The hotel we were staying in was perched up on the clifftops of Capri. We caught a cable rail car up the cliff to discover a wonderful wee village full of glamour. Our stay here was probably one of the highlights of our trip as we did not much at all apart from walk around, eat, sleep and swim.

Meeting back with our coach we were off again this time heading to a remote Tuscan hilltop settlement called Assisi. On the way we stopped at Monte Casino, the place where a huge battle took place on the hillside and where about 400 New Zealand men lost their lives. The graveyard was surreal and it was so strange seeing Kiwis buried so far from home. The appreciation for how far these guys came to fight for our nation was felt when we looked up the hill in which they were all gunned down.

We arrived in Assisi in the late afternoon. Assisi is a monk village nestled on a hilltop in Tuscany and undoubtedly had the most stunning views and scenery we had ever seen. It was so quiet and peaceful we could do nothing but chill out in our little hotel on the hill in the middle of nowhere. We took a tour of the church of St some guy I cant remember (there were so many catholic churches they all blend into one). The church was weird and the St was all over the walls in paintings that made him out to be like Jesus, hmmm. Anyway, nice place but got to be leaving......

Our next destination was the all famous Venice but first we would be stopping off to have lunch on the (yet another) hilltop country of San Marino. That's right I said country, it is a tax free country no bigger than a small NZ town all surrounded by fortified walls and even has its own regiment of soldiers. This place declared war on England during WW2 but somehow I don't think Winston Churchill was worried too much. So after another hearty lunch we set off for Venice.

Our hotel in Venice was not actually on the lagoon islands but was on the mainland. But we didn't mind as it was only a short drive over the liberty bridge to the bus park where from there on it was all walking and water taxis (no cars in Venice!) Venice was such an unusual place to be, there is nothing like it. Its popularity was soon apparent and with 3 super cruise liners in town, it was packed with tourists. This sinking city was magical with its lagoon islands loaded with buildings slowly sinking into the water all connected by pedestrian bridges. We were soon getting the idea that Italian city's were all built in positions that were easily defendable, what better place than a hilltop to build a city? In the ocean! We had a cocktail in the main square while being serenaded by a 3 piece band and just soaked up the atmosphere. Venice is famous for its Venetian glass and glass work. We saw a display of the making of this work that has been passed down from father to son for hundreds of years. After a day in the bustling city we retired to our hotels absolutely knackered. The next day we took a cruise out to the outer islands where we stopped off for lunch on an old fishing island that had brightly painted houses crammed into a tiny village.

The next destination was Monte Catini where we took a day trip out to see Pisa, the small town where the famous leaning tower can be found. This thing is so much more on a lean that in the pictures! We just couldn't believe it was standing the way it was, fully expecting it to go at any minute. After our quick touristy photos, we headed off back to our hotel. Monte Catini was a nice wee town and we really enjoyed the quiet non tourist feel it had as we could get a feel for some real life in Italy which was hard to see when we were usually in tourist spots. We spent the evening on a local olive farm with dinner, wine and live Italian music setting the scene. The bus ride back to the hotel was very amusing with all the Italian songs continuing until we reached home.

From Monte Catini we headed to Florence, the art capitol of Italy. This is where we saw the statue of David, one of Michelangelo's most famous sculptures. It was absolutely huge at 5 metres tall and flawlessly carved out of one piece of marble. We were stunned by the magnificence of his work. Florence was the hottest place during our trip and being all made of stone with no seaside, it definitely kept us in the shade. We took a slow but steady walk around the city to see many small and many monstrous churches and various other sights. Florence is also famous for its leather but we just were'nt feeling up to buying any leather trousers or jackets so we gave it a miss.

The next day saw us heading back to Rome but on the way we stopped off for lunch in Sienna. This place has a huge square where every year they race horses around the cobblestones, nuts! We caught a parade here which was basically rival horse owners taunting each other leading up to the annual race. Heading on to Rome another brief stop was made to an old castle owned by a billionaire Italian dude on yet another hilltop. The place was amazing and he had sunk his life earning into renovating it. Not a DIY job I would take on. A quick drink at his poolside bar and we were off again to spend 2 days in Rome.

Rome was the most magnificent city of the whole tour. Every nook and cranny oozes historical sights. We saw the famous Colosseum, the city walls, the Parthenon and a billion other buildings, paintings and sculptures which by now we were getting a little used to being around. The highlight in Rome is the famous Trevi Fountain. When we arrived here it was unfortunately dry as a bone! Apparently some contractor had dug through the water pipe and embarrassed by his actions, covered it up with cement and fled the scene. It took days to find and the repairs were underway. No sooner had our guide told us the story than a gurgle from the fountain was heard and up shot the water. Perfect timing!

The next day we were up bright and early to go line up for the Vatican City and the famous Sistine Chapel. This place was stunning. The amount of sculpture and art within these walls is astounding. Every inch drips with marble and gold which is a little concerning coming from a church. Anyway, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel was amazing although by the time we got there we had used up the last of our leg power and were not up to standing in the crowd staring at the ceiling for too long. From here we shot through the Basilica church (The biggest in the world apparently) and then back home for a well deserved lie down.

Our last night in Rome was spent having a Pizza party across the road from the Colosseum accompanied by Opera singers. It was a fantastic end to a fantastic 10 day Italian experience. In our humble opinions, Italy has some of the best food, people, culture, art, history and weather we have ever experienced. Fantastico!