Delaware, Ohio Travel Photographer: Europe Vacation Day 3 - Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Forum, Rome, Italy

On Day 3, we had an early meeting with our next private tour guide, Laura at the Colosseum at 9:00am.  We walked there and it was amazing when you walked around the corner and saw it for the first time.  It's so huge!!  How did we walk all around this town and never run into it??

We took a tour of the Colosseum, and the size is indescribable and the photos don't do it justice.  This was probably the most impressive thing we saw on our entire trip.  It's maybe about as big as the OSU 'Shoe.  It used to hold 50,000 people and is 2,000 years old!!!!!


And, yes, Flea got to visit the Colosseum, too!


The other side of the Colosseum is a completely different scene. The Palatine Hill has beautiful, tall trees, and lots of grass. Such a gorgeous view from an arch in the Colosseum.


This is a view from the lower level of the cells where they kept the beasts and prisoners before their battles. This would have been under the original floor.


Right next door to the Colosseum was Constantine's Arch. He was the first Christian Emperor of Rome.


The Palatine Hill just looks like heaven, and it could not have been a more beautiful day!


This is the stadium on Palatine Hill where they had chariot races.


The Roman Forum - so many temple ruins everywhere you looked!


This was a marble ruin now used as a bench. Really??? This would be behind bullet-proof glass in the U.S.!!


Amazing art work, pottery, and jewelery that is 2,000 years old! I think we're all being punk'd, right? Because this stuff cannot possibly be real!! The whole city feels like you're on the set of a Hollywood movie!


The Temple of Saturn.


This is the monument for Victor Emmanuel and the tomb of the unknown soldier. It's the biggest building I've ever seen! Unfortunately, it was built in the 1900s, but it's size is hugely impressive.


Along our way to lunch we came across the Santa Maria in Portico church. Very beautiful!


Look closely in the glass case... yes, this is a real dead guy! Yikes!


We had lunch in the Jewish Ghetto, as recommended by our guide. We ate lunch at Giggetto, outside next to some random ruins.  And, yes, this is a dough Menorah!


We then hiked across the Tiber River to the little island and saw San Bartalomeo church and left a prayer for my grandparents in the prayer book. We had more gelato on the bridge and enjoyed the scene on our way back.


Next, we climbed a BILLION stairs to the Santa Maria in Aracoeli, which was well worth the views, both inside and out. Here, I lit a candle for my grandparents, as well. After the church, we looked around the Victor Emmanuel monument some more and took in the views.


We walked back past the Colosseum and got some better photos with the bright blue sky. Kelly and Lori got a cab and we chose to walk (through the real ghetto) back to the hotel. On the way back we saw the Santa Maria Maggiore which we took a quick photo of and ran. It seems to be where all the flower-givers and goopy splat-toy sellers hang out in their "down-time."


We took a brief nap after all of our excitement and sunshine. Then, we met up for dinner and went to a local Irish pub. Irish food in Italy = not the best, but it was an enjoyable atmosphere, and I got to eat french fries and something that wasn't pasta!!  So, I was happy!

Delaware, Ohio Travel Photographer: Europe Vacation Day 2 - Pompeii, Sorrento, Positano, and Amalfi Coast, Italy

I'm a photo-editing machine today! I made it through Day 2's photos when we visited Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. Here is the story of Day 2:

Today we woke up early and grabbed some delicous croissants for breakfast -again, negotiated in Italian. We met our private driver at 7:30am. We BLEW down the highway, south towards Pompeii. We saw the Italian Alps, which were beautiful.


Then we arrived in Pompeii and met our private tour guide, Nello.


Adam is using an ancient crosswalk (so their feet didn't get mucky from the sewage water running down the town streets, down the hill).


I love the images of Mount Vesuvius looming in the distance. It's amazing to believe that this is still an active volcano and could bury the town as it did thousands of years ago. Here it is overlooking the Temple of Apollo.


So many artifacts have been discovered from 2,000 years ago!


The casts of all the bodies uncovered are so eerie and sad. Notice how they're often covering their mouths and noses. The ashes are what killed many Pompeii residents.


This was one of the public baths in Pompeii. It's amazing to me how modern their technology was 2,000 years ago. They had sewers, plumbing, heated baths, theaters, tickets, shops, markets, palaces, etc. It's difficult to fathom 2,000 years ago when comparing it to U.S. history!


The public theater... I cannot imagine excavating this... how many years that must've taken!


Next, we tried to drive to Sorrento, but got caught in holiday traffic. So, we hopped a train. We went through Naples, which was questionable, at best. It took us about 30 minutes to get to Sorrento. We ate lunch at a restaurant set up by Nello and had five-star service. He had a table all reserved for us and food ready to eat! This was Adam's favorite meal.


Then we shopped in a street market down an alley.


Just as we hopped in our van we looked over a railing right in town and saw the Deep Valley of the Mills. The photo cannot even do it justice. It looked as deep as the Grand Canyon, right in the middle of a flat town! If we didn't look down, we would've missed it!

 
We drove down the Amalfi Coast as the sky clouded up. It was a beautiful and nauseating drive!! Very winding roads right on the edge of land with steep cliffs to the ocean, taken at top speeds. We stopped at a lookout to see Positano and buy souvenirs.


We then headed back to Rome, and got stuck in traffic for three hours, unmoving. We nearly saw a brawl between two Italians, and one bullied the police into letting traffic through. Seems the police do not have much authority in Italy! After finally moving, we drove two more hours and got back around 10:15pm. Super LOOOONNNGGGG day. But, well worth it. That night we had dinner late at an outdoor pizza place under a tent. It was delicious! We were exhausted and had another big day ahead of us!

Delaware, Ohio Travel Photographer: Europe Vacation Day 1 - Rome, Italy

Believe it or not, nine days after returning from our amazing European vacation, I'm ready to post photos of Day 1 in Rome, Italy! I took over 2,000 photos, so just sorting them, choosing my favorites, and identifying them (not to mention editing) is taking me forever! I will take it one day at a time as I balance this with my current client sessions and upcoming weddings. For those who want the overview, this is the abbreviated version, believe it or not! To see all the finished images from our trip, go to My Proofing Site.

We left for Europe on a Sunday afternoon and flew two hours to New York, then nine hours (overnight) to Rome's Fiumicino Airport. We splurged and paid $39 each for the "exit row" seats, and it was well worth it for five feet of leg room! The flight was surprisingly bearable, but sleeping for more than 20 minutes without waking on a plane is just not for me. And, the excitement of traveling overseas for the first time was too much to handle! I had the Italian language running through my head the whole trip. It was so exciting to know that as soon as our plane touched down, our day was just beginning.

Once we landed, I negotiated a passport stamp in Italiano. Ha! That will teach everyone else for not learning the language! Then, I was able to negotiate train tickets for all of us to Rome's Termini Station. We were only staying a few hundred meters away. We arrived at the station and Lori and Kelly chose to take a taxi, we opted to walk. Might have been a mistake since we were lost, despite my use of the Italian language, no one seemed to be helpful. Until I met a VERY Italian lady walking her dog, who spoke no English, and from the way she talked and gestured, we were WAY off base. So, we turned around and somehow ended back up at the Termini Station. Then, we walked ahead a few hundred meters and found our hotel. We were drenched in sweat, but happy to be there! We wanted the "real" traveler experience. No taxis for us!

Once we settled in, unpacked, and showered, we met Lori and Kelly for lunch at a street cafe.


Then, it was time to set out to see the sights on our own. We got a map and set out for the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. Along the way we saw so many amazing sites we'd never heard of. It's amazing how many HUGE, OLD buildings are everywhere in Rome!!

The San Carlo Quattro Fontane - or Four Fountains.






The Fontana del Tritone.


View of the streets in Rome.




View approaching the Trinita dei Monti, or Spanish Steps.


It was all quiet and peaceful, then you walk around a corner, and BAM!! Thousands of people everywhere! And, tons of guys wanting to give you "free" roses (hint: don't accept the roses) and sell you gooey blobs that splat on the ground and reform into a creature. Both totally related to the steps. :) This is a view from atop the Spanish Steps.



Where's Waldo... I mean, Adam?




We had to try the gelato we'd been hearing so much about. And, it was amazing!



Then we walked over to the Fontana di Trevi, or Trevi Fountain. I was not prepared for how enormous the fountain was! Beautiful... couldn't wait to see this at night (more on that later!).



Next was the Quirinale, which we saw during our walk back to the hotel. As I understand, this is where the President lives. It was heavily guarded with officers with machine guns, but was not nearly as popular as our White House might be - hardly any tourists around. We did get to see a very official-looking car come buzzing out of the entrance!




It had been a long day and we were ready for bed by 8pm. We headed back to our hotels, and the Teatro dell'Opera, or Opera Theater was right across the street/alley from our hotel.



We stopped to rest on the cool grass outside the Opera (what little grass exists in Rome). This was my view at the end of a perfect day. So far, Rome had been unbelievable, like a Disney scene or the set of a movie, but it's real. I couldn't wait for the next two weeks!