We have spent the last couple of weeks in Italy. We flew into Rome on April 11th and spent 4 night there before taking the train to Florence. This is out first time in Italy. We don't normally spend much time in larger cities, particularly the more touristy ones, so this was a new experience for us.
Generally speaking this has not been "our cup of tea, but, for the most part, we enjoyed ourselves. It is not high tourist season yet, but it was still very busy. It is possible to see the main attractions by avoiding the most crowded times. An early start helps but if you want to get a close look at the main attractions, be prepared for long queues.
We got an early start and spent the first morning in Rome wandering around the historic parts of town. Making our way from one popular spot to another. Frequently getting lost along the way. The crowds increase throughout the day. It became more difficult and much less enjoyable to walk down the street.
Here are a few photos of some of the main historical attractions.
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| The Colosseum |
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| Approaching the Forum ruins |
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| Two shots of the Forum ruins |
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| Trevi Fountain through the crowd. |
On the second and third day in Rome we ventured out into the less touristy parts of town. Once by bus and the next day by walking to nice large park, and joined the the locals with their Sunday family picnics.
After 4 nights in Rome we took the train to Florence, where we stayed for 6 nights, before returning to Canada. Florence is much smaller city than Rome but it is a major tourist centre. Our visit coincided with a European school break, so the city was very busy. As you can see from the photo below.
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| Apparently it is good luck to pat this boar's nose. |
Luckily we have a friend from Kaslo who is teaching at a school in Florence. It was very nice to have a local contact and be able to escape the crowds. Jill and a friend of hers met up with us one afternoon and we walked up to a nice park garden. On the way up to the park we passed by Galileo's home (photo below). In the park we stopped at cafe garden, overlooking Florence, and shared a bottle of prosecco
The Wisteria were in full bloom.
A few days later we met Jill again and spent a great day with her. At Jill's suggestion we all took a short bus ride to Fiesole, a village in the hills overlooking the city. Besides the fantastic view of the city there is an interesting Roman ruin. Unlike the ruins in Rome, one can pay a small fee and roam around the ruins at your leisure. We almost had the place to ourselves.
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| Looking back to Florence fro Fiesole |
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| the country side |
These photos are of the local church in Fiesole. We don't often go into churches, but this one was very inviting. I don't really know why. Perhaps because it was an interesting but simple building, compared to the huge ostentatious cathedrals. It had a feeling of calmness and serenity.
Below are a few photos of the ruins. Jill knew the history of the site. That definitely added a lot to the visit. The amphitheatre is still used this this day for performances.
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The town square. Thunder clouds on the horizon. It rained pretty hard on the ride back to town.
A big thanks to Jill, for taking the time to show us around. It made our trip to Florence much more enjoyable
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