Violet and Grace: The Italian Tour

But wait! That's Not All!

2009-06-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

We'll be putting a video together next week showing lots more photos and other videos that we took during the trip.

Stay Tuned!

Como and Bellagio make a great final day

2009-06-11T10:47:00.000-07:00

Our final day on the road included a day trip to the area of Lake Como. This is about 30 miles north of Milan . We took the train to Como and then hopped on a hydrofoil boat for a one hour ride up the lake to Bellagio. What a site! This area gives the Amalfi Coast a run for its money. Today's trip provided some of the most amazing views we have ever seen. The boat ride maneuvered up through the Italian Alps to the docks of Bellagio. From there we could see the snow covered Swiss Alps peaking over the horizon. The weather was beautiful and we spent the afternoon strolling through the markets and shops of Bellagio. We were constantly commenting on the scenery. Every turn produced another breathtaking view.

We were a little sad on the train ride back to Milan as we realized our trip was quickly coming to an end. We will be leaving Milan on Friday morning at 10:20am. :-(

Ciao for now!

Violet and Grace

Arrival in Milan

2009-06-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday morning we embarked on the final leg of our incredible Italian Tour. We left Tuscany by train and headed to Milan. You could not imagine to more different environments. Milan is a bustling city with lots of Italian businesses headquartered here. Rick Steves says "For every church in Rome there is a bank in Milan". Violet and Grace were excited to visit Milan as it is the fashion capital of the world.

We checked into our hotel and head toward the city center. We stopped by the Milan Cathedral to tour this magnificent structure. Violet pointed out the Gothic design of the exterior and we were not disappointed when we toured the inside. It's not as big as St. Peter's at the Vatican, but it sure did seem pretty big.

Window shopping ruled the rest of the afternoon. All of the top designers had storefronts around the city. Check out our photos from the afternoon. Soldaddy forgot the camera so we had to make due with the iPhone.

Ciao!

Violet and Grace

Photos from Lucca

2009-06-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

Lucca was fun. As our earlier post mentioned, we spent most of the time exploring the Mediaval and Renaissance walls that surround that city.

Photos from Pisa

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Here are some photos from our Tuesday morning visit to Pisa. What a climb!

Pisa and Lucca

2009-06-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

Our final day in Florence included a day trip to Pisa and Lucca. We took the morning train to the city of Pisa. We headed immediately to the Leaning tower. Grace and Violet said they were up for some exercise so we decided to climb to the top of the tower. We all concluded that the climb was more intense than the Duomo in Florence. We made it to the top safely and we all experienced a little vertigo once we made our way to the perch. The views were awesome, but you could definitely feel the tilt of the tower at the top.

After the visit to Pisa we took a train to Lucca. This is a old but small Italian city surrounded by a sixteenth century wall that encircles the entire city. The wall is a hundred feet wide and is built with stones and brick. Lucca has a bike path at the top of the wall. We rented some bikes and took a spin around the top of the wall. It was really pretty. The path is lined with trees so you get to ride in the shade and view the city at the same time. We made two laps around the city for a total of 5 miles.

Wehraded back to the farm house for our final evening in Tuscany. We will be taking the train to Milan tomorrow morning for the last two days of our trip. We will miss this area but are excited to get to our next destination.

We will post the photos from Pisa and Lucca once we get to Milan. We hope the Wednesday morning will bring us news of an Orlando Magic victory in game 3.

Ciao!

Violet and Grace

Siena for the Day

2009-06-08T06:08:00.000-07:00

We woke up on Monday and took the train to Siena for the day. We hit Il Campo first. This is the city center with lots of history and the location for the famous Palio horse race. This is an annual bareback horse race that takes place in the center of the city each year. We had some lunch and then went shopping. We are having a great day.

Ciao!

Violet & Grace

Photos from Florence

2009-06-08T05:48:00.000-07:00

These photos document our first few days in Florence. We are having so much fun visiting the city.

More Photos from Capri

2009-06-08T05:43:00.000-07:00

We are little late in getting these posted but here are a few final photos from our time in Capri.

Our First two days in Florence

2009-06-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

We sure have packed in a lot of sites during our first two days in Florence. We arrived by train on Friday and immediately hit the town in style. We hit our favorite restaurant by the Duomo and Violet and Grace bought their Italia sweaters at a cart nearby. They successfully negotiated the purchase to 30 euros down from 40 euros!

After lunch Grace, Violet and Soldaddy climbed the steps of the Duomo dome with over 500 steep inclined steps to the top. We made it to the top safely with Soldaddy being the most out of breath.

After the climb of the Duomo we headed over to the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. We had seen pictures of this sculpture before but seeing live and in person was absolutely beautiful and amazing. We also learned a lot about the life and art of Michelangelo on this tour. Violet was particularly interested in Michelangelo's unfinished work of Prisoners. Michelangelo never finished these sculptures and they have four of them on display At the Accademia.

Saturday was just as busy. We started with a three hour walking tour of Florence. Our guide walked us tbrought the heart of the city showing us pre-Renaissance and Renaissance buildings. We learned a lot about the history of Florence and how it started the Renaissance period. We even visited a few thirteenth century churches.

The afternoon included a tour of the Uffizi Gallery. We saw Botticellis Birth of Venus and also saw his Primavera. Violet thought that Venus looked a lot like Ashley, her cousin Gary's wife. We also saw a Michelangelo, a few DaVinci's, and a room full of Raphael's. That is a lot of art for one day! But we left the Uffizi knowing that we had seen some of the worlds greatest art in a single afternoon and we are very grateful for that.

We've got a lot of photos from the last few days but have no Internet connection in our Tuscan farmhouse. But we do have a rooster that wakes us up in the morning. Hope to post the photos soon.

That's all for now!

Ciao!

Violet and Grace

A Day in Capri

2009-06-04T14:29:00.001-07:00

We spent most of the day in Capri. It's a small island just a 20 minute ferry ride from Sorrento. We hit the Blue Grotto first. This is a natural grotto on the northwestern end of the island. It is accessible at the base of one of the cliffs. It has a small narrow passage way that leads to large open area. It is only accessible by row boat. So we took a smaller boat ride to the grotto area and then climbed into a small rowboat and our Capri guide rowed us into the grotto and serenaded us with traditional italian arias. It was Violets's opinion that our guide was a much better rower than singer. Violet: "He should just stick to the rowing!". The cool part about the grotto is that sunlight comes in through the passage way and reflect on the water to create an almost fluorescent blue color throughout the entire grotto area. It was a very cool experience. The ride out to the grotto was just as exciting. We saw giant cliffs all the way around the side of the island.

Well we bid Sorrento farewell tomorrow morning and then it is off to Florence.

Ciao!

Violet & Grace

Photos from our drive on Amalfi Coast

2009-06-04T14:21:00.001-07:00

These are from yesterday's tour. The pictures say it all. The most beautiful place we have ever seen. Photos include our drive on the coast on the stops in Positano and Amalfi.

The Amalfi Coast: David Style

2009-06-03T14:03:00.001-07:00

We took an unbelievable tour of the Amalfi Coast today. David, our driver for the day, took us from Sorrento down to Amalfi with a stop in Positano. This is some of the most amazing and beautiful landscapes we have ever seen. Imagine cliffs that raise 1,000 feet right out of the cobalt blue water. The tour ran on a winding road that was built 900 years ago and runs along the side of the mountains and cliffs with the road nervously hugging the edge of the mountainside at all elevations. David knew the route like the back of his hand, pulling over several times to allow us to get out at the spots with the best views and to take a few photos. David is a native of Sorrento and took us to the top of Sorrento where you could see both bays at the same time: The Sorrento Bay and the Amalfi Bay. Completely unbelievable! We made a few shopping stops as well. Came back to the hotel for some needed rest and then a little more shopping with Mom.

Will try to post the Amalfi photos tomorrow.

All is good. Thanks for staying in touch. We really like hearing from everyone.

Ciao!

Violet and Grace

A Room with a View

2009-06-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

We left Rome this morning. We were sad to leave because we had such a great time. We took the train to Naples and met our new best friend. His name is David and he was our driver to Sorrento which is about a one hour drive from Naples. He will also be driving us on a tour of the Amalfi Coast on Wednesday.

Although we missed Rome and were happy to see Sorrento. What a place!
Violet: "I think I died and went to Sorrento!"
Grace: "This is the nicest hotel room I have even seen or been in!"

We are staying the the Hotel Minerva Sorrento. You can check it out here. Our room overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and Mount Vesuvius. Speaking of Mount Vesuvius we went to the Pompeii ruins this afternoon. The rain seemed to have followed us from Rome but we still had a good time. Our guide Antonio took us through the site ruins and explained the history of the Pompeii culture. It was amazing and more than we could have imagined. Lots of good history on this trip. Our teachers would be proud.

Check out our photos from Pompeii and the view from our hotel.

We have to go but look forward to posting.

Ciao!

Violet and Grace

P.S. Soldaddy seems to have misplaced his camera battery charger. So the rest of this trip will be documented by iPhone!

2009-06-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Little did we know that the best pizza in Rome was served right across the street from our apartment. We saw lines of people at waiting to get into Pizzerita Baffeta every night. So we gave it a shot. We were not disappointed. The pizza was awesome. We sat next to a Norwegian couple who gave us both Norwegian kroner (coins). Soldaddy mentioned that his grandparents were from Norway, but could not remember Nana Solberg's hometown. Anyway we had a good time talking about Norway and Norwegian traditions. The proprietor of the restaurant was a character and extremely camera shy!!!!

Caio for now, Headed to Sorrento tomorrow!

Violet and Grace

Governo Vecchio equals Park Avenue

2009-06-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

There's lots of cool shops and boutiques on the street right outside of our apartment on Governo Vecchio. It reminds us of Park Avenue in Winter Park. We hit the shops tonight and made a first big purchase on the trip. ITALIAN SHOES!

Ciao!

Our Last Day in Rome

2009-06-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

Well it started off a little crazy. We had the morning booked for a walking tour through the Colosseum, the Ancient Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. What do all of these have in common? They are all outdoors. We woke up in the morning to rain and it never stopped. We braved it through the Colosseum and portions for the Forum, but decided to cut our losses and save up our energy and health for our afternoon tour of the Vatican Museum and St. Peter Basilica. Not to be disappointed, we met our tour guide Guido at the museum and had an awesome four hour tour. It was great to see all of the things we had read about, including the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's La Pieta in St. Peter's. Check out our photos from the day.

Why is Violet Sad? The Answer

2009-06-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

Well you all guessed correctly. We were on our way to the Spanish steps on Sunday night and stopped by a small trattoria for dinner. Right after we place our order Violet screamed and looked up in the sky and by that time it was too late. The pigeon had already done its damage. Our friendly and attentive waitress quickly took Violet inside and helped her clean up. Violet returned to the table a little embarrassed. But she took it like a champ and we all had a good dinner after all.

Why is Violet Sad?

2009-05-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

Something weird happened at dinner tonight. Can you guess why Violet is sad? Leave your guess in the comments sections.

a) Violet ordered Risotto a la Funghi without knowing that it meant mushrooms.
b) Grace got dessert and Violet did not.
c) A pigeon pooped on Violet's head

What do you think?

Day 2 and more photos- Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain

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Grace and Violet at the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps!

Violet and Grace Before and After

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Before Day 2 and After Day 2!

More Photos from Day 2

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Piazza Navona

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Violet and Grace strike a pose in Piazza Navona!

Rome Day 1 - First Meal!

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Violet and Grace enjoy their first meal in Rome!

End of Day 2 in Rome

2009-05-31T14:23:00.001-07:00

Well we finally figured out that Obama was not coming to Rome and it was a big cycle race in Rome that was causing all of the commotion yesterday and today. It seems like it closed down half of the city. After the visit to the catcombs we made our way back to the apartment. We embarked on a wild evening stroll that wound through the heart of Rome. We stopped for dinner and Violet experienced a slight mishap. (More on that later). We then made our way to the Spanish Steps. We mingled with tourists from all over the world. After that we made our way over to the Trevi Fountain and expericned this with 1,000 of our closest new friends (aka other tourists). We cast our coins in the fountain to wish for a speedy return to Rome. Violet also made a wish to get good grades on her final report card! We hope to return to the Trevi for one final visit tomorrow night. We are headed to bed right now in preparation for our big tour day tomorrow. We will be visiting the Colesseum and the Vatican. Lots of good photos so far. Really hope that we can post some of them tomorrow. In search of stable Internet connection!

Ciao

Violet and Grace

2009-05-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

We are still in Rome. We had breakfast and then tried hail a cab apparently you don’t hail cabs in Rome. We tried to hail one cab and the driver just waved back at us. Eventually we got a taxi to the train station and validated our tickets for the ride to Sorrento and Florence. Then we grabbed another taxi. He drove around the Catacombs for like 15 minutes looking for the bike rental place. Finally, we told him we’d jut go strait to the Catacombs . The Catacombs were really cool. The grounds outside it were beautiful and the history was realy interesting. When we finished, we bought some post cards and a gift for my aunt Sonja.

Day One in Rome

2009-05-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it here! We had several delta in Orlando and Newark, but finally arrived in Rome at 8:30am. We are staying in an apartment in the heart of Rome. We are on Governo Vecchio, just a few paces from Piazza Navona. We spent the day walking around the area and even made a stop at the Pantheon. Lot's of window shopping too! We both bought a pair of matching ear rings. We are operating on just a little sleep so we are going to hit the sack early tonight. Lot's of commotion going on around the city center. Lots of police and helicopters. Our waiter at dinner said Obama was going to be here on Sunday. Not sure if he was telling the truth or if he was just pulling our leg. We took a lot of cool pictures today and hope to post them soon. That's all for now

We are having a great time

Caio!

Final Shout Outs!

2009-05-28T19:23:00.001-07:00

Violet gives her final shout outs before tomorrow's big trip to Italy

Blog Greeting from Violet & Grace

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Welcome to our Italian Tour Blog

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We are excited about our trip to Italy! Thank you for following our travels and we hope to share our experiences with you as we visit many exciting places.

Here is our itinerary:

Friday, May 29: Depart Orlando for Newark. Connect in Newark to Rome, Italy.

Saturday, May 30: Arrive in Rome in the morning and take a bus tour in the afternoon

Sunday, May 31: A bike ride on the Appian Way and visit the Catacombs

Monday, June 1: Tour The Vatican, the Colosseum and Palatine Hill

Tuesday, June 2: Train to Sorrento, tour the Amalfi Coast

Wednesday, June 3: Visit Pompeii and ancient Greek ruins at Paestum

Thursday, June 4: Ferry to island of Capri and visit the Blue Grotto

Friday, June 5: Train to Florence, visit the Academia to see statue of David

Saturday, June 6: Walking tour of Florence, visit Uffizi Gallery

Sunday, June 7: Prada and Gucci Outlets!

Monday, June 8: Day trip to Siena

Tuesday: June 9: Day trip to Pisa and Lucca

Wednesday: June 10: Train to Milan, walking tour of Milan

Thursday, June 11: Day trip to Lake Como and Bellagio

Friday: June 12: Return to good 'ol USA!

Hope to hear from all of you during our trip.

Violet & Grace