Italy and all it’s wonders

or at least as many as we could take in, in a week.

Our vacation started off with a bang so to speak.  Not the exciting kind as one would hope for, but more of the shocking type that makes you worry that your vacation is now canceled.

You see, Cody just HAD to get in one last work out before our vacation and went to the gym after I asked him repeatedly to stay home and take it easy since we were leaving later that day. As we all know, wives are never right until it’s too late, and this was no exception.  Cody called me from the gym to tell me his shoulder was dislocated and an ambulance was on it’s way.  As I walked through the door at the gym, he said, and I quote; “I should have listened to you.” 

Off we went on the 20 min ride to the nearest hospital where they took x-rays, put Cody under anesthesia and popped his shoulder back into place.  The German doctors were quite insistent on having Cody stay over night for observation because of the anesthesia, but our flight was leaving that night!  Neither of us thought a dislocated shoulder would require anesthesia, yet alone an overnight stay, but after three hours and lots of paperwork signing we finally got out of there and our traveling companions arrived to take us home and on ward with our journey.

With Cody in a sling and instructions NOT to fly due to the recent anesthesia, we boarded our flight.  Staying home is for sissys. We flew into Pisa, since Ryan air has CHEEP flights and the plan was to spend a day in Pisa and then train it to Rome. Our flight arrived into Pisa late, around 11:30pm but we were all excited about finally being in Italy, so we checked in at the hostel, left our bags and took a night walk to the famous leaning tower. The weather was lovely and seeing the tower at night was romantic.

I woke up very early and got out of bed as soon as the birds started chirping outside our window the next morning.  I was still too excited to sleep properly.  Once everyone else had woken up, we went back to the tower to see in the day light hours.  It was around 6:30 in the morning and if you ever go the the tower, go early.  It was deserted with the exception of two security guards keeping watch.  We got amazing photos of the tower and the church without any crowds to ruin our shots.  And that is of course the magic hour that photographers love, so the photos look that much nicer because of it.

Turns out that there is not much else to do in Pisa, so after the tower we walked to the train station to buy our tickets.  It was a good walk, especially with suit cases in tow.  We got turned around a few times but we eventually made it.  We bought our tickets and went to a café across the street where I enjoyed my first Italian cappuccino and my first Italian argument!  Everywhere we went that day there were Italians arguing with each other!  In just the way you’d imagine it too; loud with lots of dramatic use of the hands, head shaking, and what I can only assume was shit talking as they walked away from each other. It was great.  Cody looked at me and said “Whatsa matta wita me? Whatsa matta wita you?” And we continued to say that the ENTIRE trip.

The train ride was very picturesque as it went through Tuscany and much of it was by the sea side, so while Cody looked like this since he had take a muscle relaxer…

The rest of us were awake and got to see this…

The apartment I found on trip advisor did not disappoint!  It was just outside of old Rome and only minutes from everything by subway.  Cody and I walked one day and it only took us about 20 min to get to the Coliseum. We had a small kitchenette, two bedrooms, and a sweet little patio to enjoy the evenings on.  We spent most every evening on the patio enjoying a bottle of wine from the little shop around the corner.

Day one in Rome we toured the Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s square and spent the evening at the Spanish Steps people watching.  The Sistine chapel was lovely but much of my awe was diluted by the guards’ consistent shushing of the crowd.  I stopped to look up at a portion of the wall and got shooed away by one of the guards.  I’m sad to say that portion of the tour was a huge disappointment.  Lucky for me there is a lot more to the Vatican museums than the Sistine chapel.

The Spanish steps were crowded and bustling with tourists but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.  We sat on the steps drinking beers and crashing photos.  I wish I could be a fly on the wall when they see the two crazy girls in the background of their photos.  I love a good photo crash!

On day two we went to the Coliseum and the Palatine.  We did not realize how ENORMUS the Palatine and Roman Forum were so we went back to the Forum the next day.  Of everything we did I was the most impressed with the Palatine and the Forum.  It was massive and maze like.  It went on and on!  It gave us some great views of the city since it was on one of the seven hills of Rome and I enjoyed imagining what it all must have looked like in the days of the Romans.

Day three, we went back to the Forum to see the rest of it.  Afterward we made our way to the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II where we rode a glass elevator up to the top for a panoramic view of the entire city. It was very cool and well worth the 7 EUR!  From there we could see the Pantheon and decided to go there next. After that it was off to the Trevi Fountain and then back home for a rest.  Later that night Cody and I headed out for a romantic night just the two of us.  We started at the Trevi Fountain, then had a bottle of wine in front of the Pantheon then we went to the Piazza Navona for dinner.  We were seated next to another American couple who was visiting from Texas and we all had a nice conversation.  They surprised us by paying for our dinner as a thank you for Cody’s military service.  He told us as they left and we were both left in a bit of shock.  It was very kind of them and we were VERY grateful for it. <3

Ever wonder what happens to all those coins people throw in the Trevi Fountain?  This girl did and wrote a nice little blog about it!

Now, quite honestly the rest of the trip is a slight blur of returning to places we wanted to re-visit and endless walking. Also, endless searching for the perfect birthday present for Cody’s brother. (We finally found it!)  I do know that the next day we walked all over and even all the way into the Trastevere neighborhood where we had a late lunch.  Truly it was the best cheese pizza I’ve ever had in my life and I was quite pissed when I found, later that night Cody had eaten half of what was left!  Grrrr!
The city held me in awe at every moment. The vast history of every nook and cranny of Rome combined with delicious food, gelato and wine made for a wonderful vacation!  If you ever get the chance to go to Rome, by all means do!  Cody and I have already talked about the things we’d like to do on a return trip! 
On a side note it was so hard to chose which pictures to put in my blog as there were SO many amazing and wonderful photos of everywhere we went!