Italy in springtime

Pompeii and the volcano Vesuvius

B in front of the Roman Forum

DA and I at the Colosseum in Rome

Over the kid's spring break we took a trip to Italy. It was a whirlwind through Tuscany, Rome and the Amalfi coast (the top of the foot in the boot shape of Italy). There are just too many wonderful things to say about Italy. I will post my top 10 list below and a few pictures. We've heard from many other Expats (American Patriots living outside the country - very common term heard over here) that once you travel to Italy you never want to go anywhere else - you just keep going back. I believe it. The food, the people, the scenery, the history - just everything to want in a trip.

PRICE'S TOP 10 LIST FOR ITALY:

10) Pompeii - very, very interesting. New info for me - I thought it was covered up by lava, but in fact, it was just completely buried with ash and falling earth/rocks. It was not burned by lava.

9) the GIGANTIC lemons in Sorrento. Some were larger than softballs. The lemon and orange trees were in bloom all over the area. It is so cool looking. All the little houses have orange and lemon trees in their gardens.

8) the weather in Tuscany - It only rains about 40 days a year in Italy and we were there for 7 of them. It even snowed! Our tour guide said she hadn't seen snow in that area for 30 years. lucky us. Unfortunately we didn't get to see all the colors of Tuscany in their sunshine glory. Guess that means we need to go back.

7) San Gimignano - loved, loved, loved that little town. Also liked Siena, Assissi, Florence...

6) driving the Amalfi Coast - my, my, my fabulous scenery, but scary!!! road is tiny, you are driving on a cliff for MILES with buses meeting you on the road and the locals are driving their little motorcycles fast as they could go down the center of the road. Luckily DA drove. I would have fallen off into the Mediterranean Sea.

5) driving in Italy. period. no lines on the road in Rome. too scary riding in front seat of the taxi! DA loved the "traffic rules are really suggestions" way of life. Italians just do what they want and don't really get mad at anyone else doing what they want - except they might honk at you.

4) the Colosseum in Rome. very cool.

3) the Sistine chapel - beautiful. Line to get into the Vatican Museum is crazy. about 5 deep for a mile, but we bought a ticket where we cut to the front of the line :=) Still took 2 hours to walk straight through the museum just to get to the Sistine Chapel.

2) GELATO - need I say more. delicious. B had at least 2 servings a day. (Italian ice cream for those who don't know)

1) Fried fish - it was so funny. Our first night in Italy was on Good Friday and since the country is mainly Catholic, they only serve fish on that day. It was a fixed menu restaurant. Our 1st Italian meal was: 1st course - fried fish bait - literally fried minnows! fried whole like french fries. heads, eyes, tails and all. B almost fainted. she and I left our plates untouched, but DA said they were tasteless. L tried them and decided he would bite them in half and leave the eyes. yuk. 2nd course - fish soup. tasted good, but looked bad. B left hers untouched! 3rd course - pasta with fish pieces. tasted good, but didn't look too appetizing. B looked pitiful enough that she got some pasta with tomato sauce. 4th course - whole fish. once again served heads, tails and bones. B passed, but the rest of us thought it tasted nice. I do hate bones though. 5th course - fish gelato - just kidding. Tirimisu. very good. and for the final touch - clementines. Sounds like tons of food, but when you get little servings and pass on some of them, you can still leave the table just comfortably full.

Other than that first meal though, all our food was delicious. L ate more pizza than he can remember and B had pasta at every meal. DA and I had fish mainly. It was so, so good. The lemon gelato made with fresh, local lemons was very good too. Of course the fresh, local olive oil was so good too. Just too many good meals to mention.

B and L in the Mediterranean Sea in Positano, Italy

DA in front of Michelangelo's tomb in Florence

We were all fascinated by this street artist in Florence. He was using chalk to draw this on the street. Looked like paint on a canvas.

yes, the kids were out of school again. It seems that they get a break every time I turn around. I just laugh at how much vacation time professionals get over here - I guess they all expect to take off when the kids are out of school for all their breaks. So "when in Rome...". DA said during official "half term" and "mid term" breaks - the office is almost empty. I don't know how they get anything done!

Just walking down the street by the Colosseum in Rome.