Everything tagged italy
I flew to Milan by myself. David was coming in from England. So even though I got there ahead of time, David had not taken red-eye flight to get to Milan and he had already adjusted to the time change. I got to the hotel first and took a nap for a few hours. There is nothing like that first nap when you arrive in Europe from an overnight flight.
Our first full day in Rome consisted of a morning walking tour of the center of Rome. I had found a private tour guide online, named Marco, who walked us through the center of town.
Well, it was the last day in Milan. Part of this trip was an effort to escape the madness of the renovation, and in that sense, the trip was a total winner. I feel like I've "done" Milan, though I would never pass up any chance to visit Italy again. But I feel like there was a lot of the surrounding area that I would love to come back and explore: Lake Como and Verona are two biggies. I could imagine spending at least a week, casually bopping from one small town to the next.
At some point, David and I found ourselves in the neighborhood called Trastevere. It's full of winding streets and tiny shops and at least one unexpected powerhouse of a church.
It's Christmas in Rome. A little damp. A little empty. A wonderful day to stroll the city and visit churches.
I've tagged this entry with "Italy" even though Bellinzona is in Switzerland. However, you would really never be able to tell that you left Italy in this part of Switzerland.
After our tour with Marco, we decided to go back and tour some of our favorite spots that we didn't have quite enough time to see with Marco.
Our second full day in Rome, we took a morning tour of the Villa Borghese and then strolled through the gardens.
If I had to pick one building as the single most awe-inspiring work of humanity, it would have to be St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. I've been to a lot of famous churches in the world, but even St. Peter's worst completely outshines just about everyone's best. David and I visited St. Peter's on Christmas Eve.
Every time we go to Italy, I say that we don't go to Italy enough. Why does it only happen once every few years? We had dinner with one of David's colleagues in Milan that tells us she goes to Rome twice a year. Granted, she's a hell of a lot closer, but still...we should be going ot Italy more. I haven't been to Rome in over 10 years! What's wrong with me?