The trip got off to a rough start a couple weeks before we were to leave, however, when I discovered that Alitalia had cancelled our flight!!! I booked my tickets on vayama.com, and they customer service was NOT helpful at all! I thought they should have rescheduled us but instead they insisted we go a day later, which is what we ended up doing. This cost a day out of Rome but I had been there before and was able to rush mom through all the sites quite quickly. But enough about the negative — on to the trip report!

Days 1-2: Rome — The Eternal City
We did arrive on time to Rome and took the Leonardo Express directly to Rome Termini station. From there, we had to call our B&B to get directions. It took me a bit to get my iPhone working but I eventually figured it out. We stayed at Gulliver’s Lodge B&B located just down the road from the train station. I highly recommend this hotel — it was small and quaint. Just make sure you know how to use the locks!!

After settling in, we took a walk down towards the ruins of Ancient Rome. It was a decent enough day, although it did rain on and off. The walk down the road was pretty painless, however and we got a good first tour of the city this way. It was a Saturday so the wide boulevard in front of the Colosseum was closed to traffic — much nicer than the first time I was there!

We stopped by the Roman Forum at the bottom of the hill. We were tired so we didn’t do a tour or anything like that — just walked around to see the sites. It is a bit surreal to be there and to think about how that was the center of the entire Roman Empire 2000 years ago. It’s amazing how well they are actually preserved. We could see many of the arches built by the original Romans, and we saw where Julius Caesar is (supposedly) buried. We then took the stairs up to Palatine Hill, which is just beautiful. There were Olive trees (I believe) up there and the views were very impressive. Of course I took lots of pictures!

We were tired but trudged on to the Colosseum. This was probably the right order to do it as the lines were very long there at this point! The Colosseum is a very impressive site. It is sooooo huge! Very much larger than I had been expecting. We did several rounds of the place, and they also had a few artifacts on display. I think it said they originally could get something like 50,000 spectators in there.

After taking a nap, we headed towards the Trevi Fountain and did the typical tourist walk around that part of Rome (Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo di Fiori). The monuments and fountains are so ornate and the artwork so detailed. These sites are so exciting to see because you have seen them in so many movies they seem familiar. But seeing them in person gives you a whole new perspective, I think.

For our second day in Rome, we visited the Vatican. We went there first thing in the morning (which wasn’t all that early as we were still quite tired from the trip). I would say we got to the Vatican Museum around 11am, but that was still a sufficient amount of time. They have more art there than practically any other museum I’ve ever been to! I especially loved the map room (yeah, I’m a map geek). The Rafael rooms were of course amazing as well, though, and I think mom liked them the best. The only bad thing here is that by the time you get to the Sistine Chapel, you are too tired from all the art to really appreciate Michaelangelo’s masterpiece! There is too much to even take in from a single trip anyway, but it seems to tell the entire story of the bible — all on the ceiling of this not all that large chapel.

We went on to St. Peter’s from here. This is one of the largest cathedrals on earth, and of course words can’t really describe it. Another of Michaelangelo’s treasures, “The Pieta”, is displayed here and is something to behold. The square in front of St. Peter’s has to be one of the largest I have ever seen as well (picking up a trend here?). Of course this is when it started to rain!

The evening is really the time to stroll around Rome, however. It is so exciting to see and hear the sites and sounds of such a dynamic city filled with so much history! We walked through all these squares once again, but the weather wasn’t being the most cooperative, and we had an early morning flight to Spain in the morning!

Days 3-5: Barcelona and Gaudi
We took an early morning Ryanair flight to Girona, where we boarded a bus for Barcelona. We arrived around noon — it was a great flight and the transportation was very painless. We stayed at the Acta Antibes hotel, located not far from the bus station. This was a wonderful hotel, and they upgraded us to what I would call a suite — two separate rooms. All for a very good price! But we had no time to waste — Barcelona was calling!!

Our first stop was Gaudi’s masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia. This is the most unique church I have ever visited. On my first trip, I had skipped the interior. For someone on a budget, this is probably not a bad idea as the inside is little more than a construction zone, but I found it fascinating to see a church that is still a work in progress after 100 years! We even went up into the tower where we were treated to a wonderful view over Barcelona. From up there, we also could see the intricate work of the towers up close. (There is a lift that takes you up, and you have to walk down a very narrow staircase).

From here, I took mom to the Gothic Quarter for some shopping — is it just me or do Europeans *really* like to shop?? The area was absolutely mobbed both nights we were there. It is such at atmospheric place though, I really enjoyed taking lots of pictures. I think we got slightly lost as well, but despite all the horror stories I had heard, it all felt very safe there. I love Barcelona!

In the morning, we decided to take the hop-on, hop-off bus around the city. This is a pretty good value as Barcelona is quite spread out. We first took the tour of the newer part of the city, so we could see all the marvelous Modernista architecture along the grand boulevards of the city. It reminds me of Paris, which is the most beautiful city I have ever been to. Eventually we made our way to Park Guell, which was also designed by Gaudi. This is a wonderful place to spend a few hours. There are lots of well-groomed trails. Apparently it was to be a housing development, but I think Gaudi was a bit before his time. The views from here are spectacular though as you can see the entire city.

Later in the day we took a stroll down La Ramblas, which is near the older part of the city. This is a grand pedestrian street right in the heart of Barcelona, and it was absolutely jammed with people. It is great fun (so long as you watch your wallet) as it is lined with street performers and trees and birds. In the middle is the great market, La Boqueria! They have every sort of food you have ever heard of (and much that you haven’t) here!! I had a lot of fun just taking pictures. We got some food to have for lunch, which was one of our best of the trip.

We finished the day by completing the circuit of Barcelona on the bus. We visited the busy waterfront, where I got some nice shots of the sunset. We also went up to Montjuic, where much of the Olympics were held in 1992. I had some wonderful rabbit for dinner (yes, rabbit)!

On our final day in Barcelona, I wanted to take it a bit easy, so we just took a leisurely stroll. First stop was the Picasso Museum, which is housed in a series of palaces in the Gothic Quarter. It specializes in some of his lesser-known works, but has several nice examples from both the Blue and Pink periods. Very interesting stuff in any case.

We then took a walk down to the beach, which is quite a walk as it turns out. It was a bit cool for a swim so we had the beach mostly to ourselves and didn’t linger all that long. Still, we HAD to dip our fingers in the Mediterranean! Barcelona is a wonderful city to get lost in and to take it all in would take years. I must come back someday!

Days 6-7: Florence – City of Art!
Our final stop before heading back to Rome was Florence. Again we had an uneventful flight on Ryanair. Their flights are so cheap that you don’t expect much and on that front, they always deliver! We eventually figured out how to get our train tickets and headed straight for Florence.

Our Hotel in Florence was the Bellettini, which was a nice little place. I have nothing to complain about here and the owners were really enthusiastic, giving us lots of tips on what to do with our short stay.

Our first stop was the Duomo. This is definitely the highlight of Florence as you can see it dominating the “skyline” of the city. The dome is something to behold — as the colors really stand out against the white of the cathedral itself. The inside was rather huge as seems to be the case with most churches we visited in Italy, and there were lots of frescoes and paintings. Maybe we were getting “churched” out??

I think people like shopping even more in Florence than in Barcelona!! At times it was almost difficult to even walk around. Wall-to-wall people! So we walked around a bit before heading for the Academia to see The David. This of course is yet another masterpiece and really is not to be missed. Of course I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures, but there is a replica that sits outside that gives the idea (the original is actualy bigger I think). Although David is certainly the highlight, this museum is worth a couple hours of your time as is lots more to see there.

We had one of our best meals of the trip on the other side of the Arno (south side), on the recommendation of the lady at our hotel. The restaurants certainly were much cheaper over there, and the food we had was really quite good. I believe I had some sort of pork, and enjoyed it quite a bit. I was somewhat surprised that not all the meals involved nearly as much pasta as you might get over here. Delightful in any case.

The next day, we spent much of the day at the Uffizi Museum. In this museum is contained one of the greatest collections of Renaissance works anywhere in the world. And it really doesn’t disappoint. There is room after room of wonderful art. I suggest pacing yourself if you do visit this museum. There is a cafe, but I found it disappointing. They were quite strict about their tables!

We spent the last few hours shopping and walking along the river. The River Arno, and especially the Ponte Vecchio is full of amazing colors. I liked it especially at night — I kept coming back for more and more pictures! Florence is a beautiful city — maybe best for couples…

Day 8-9: Rome and Home
We had one more half day in Rome before taking the long flight home. The weather was SO much better now! This is what Italy was supposed to be like! So we did another quick tour of the sites (with some tips from Rick Steves). We even walked all the way to the other side of the river to Trastevere. This is my favorite area of Rome! It is a really fun place to be at night, and I think mom enjoyed all the shops too! From there, we took the tourist walk all the way back to the Spanish Steps, where they were having a really interesting exhibit on the Berlin Wall.

The next day, unfortunately, we had to return home. Another great trip and I can’t wait for my next adventure!!!

There are more pictures here-
Italy and Barcelona Album