Italy
June 13-14
Ciao Napoli!
We went to the Athens airport on Tuesday morning excited to begin our time in Italy! Other than the somewhat questionable lunch at the airport (from Camden Food Co) and a slight delay in our flight, the journey to Naples went smoothly. After checking in, we decided to wander around town a bit to get an idea of the area and what sites we might want to see. We saw many impressive buildings and stopped to have some pizza for dinner. We also visited a local grocery store to pick up some wine, meat, and cheese as well as a place which served Aperol Spritzes to go! Our plan went slightly awry as we soon realized we did not have a corkscrew. We attempted several methods to remove the cork, to no avail (we will provide an update on this situation later). Despite this, the first day in Naples was very fun.
The next day we got breakfast at a small cafe downstairs from our place and had some pastries and coffee. We walked down Via Toledo which had some nice shops on our way to some historical sites. We ventured and saw the Palazzo Reale and the Basilica Reale from the outside, very nice. We then walked to the pier where we saw several parked cruise ships and other boats and stopped to have some lunch. We of course ordered pizza and Aperol Spritzes before making our way to tour the Castel Nuovo where we got to see Medieval structures, skeletons of people who lived in the castle, and a rooftop view of the city. We made our way back to the B&B for a virtual meeting that Brenna had scheduled. While she did this meeting, Ben had an excursion to the gym. Desperate to find a good gym he figured out the metro system and bought a ticket and found a gym. Hit a bench topset single of 137.5kg/303lbs and had a good workout. Finished the evening with some seafood and pasta from a bistro in Piazza Dante. We got great recommendations on what traditional Napoleon food to try and even saw him pluck the basil fresh from a plant next to the table. Overall a great start to our time in Italy!
June 15-16
P&P for B&B
Thursday started like every day we stayed at this B&B, getting our included pastry and coffee at the shop downstairs. We took it to go and headed over to Montesanto Station which was a short walk away. We took the train from there all the way to Bagnoli which is on on the western coast of the Napoli region. We arrived and started walking around only to discover that the path along the coast had a wall in the way that prevented seeing any beautiful sights of the coast. We kept going moving south along the coast where we eventually found another small village and some great views of the surrounding landscape as well as Capri. We stopped at a bar in the village for some refreshments and started to climb the adjacent mountain to move back East toward civilization. Saw great views and after two miles of walking for the day so far, we decided to stop and eat. We found a place on the side of the mountain where we enjoyed Ravioli and Cheese (lots of cheese). We then caught the bus going back towards Napoli right as it started to rain outside. We couldn’t get the correct bus in time that would take us where we wanted to go but this bus got us close enough that we could take a short metro ride the rest of the way back to our area. We wandered around Via Toledo and did some shopping (Ben sporting his new shirt in the subsequent photos) and FOUND A CORKSCREW YAY. We took a quick stop back at the B&B before heading out to a street food tour that we booked. We got great historical information as well as great food along the tour. We ate some appetizers from a traditional mini-market (Olives, bread with sun dried tomatoes and broccoli, bufala mozzarella cheese, and Taralli). After the appetizers we moved into the pizza phase. We had margherita pizza and fried margherita pizza. First time having fried pizza, apparently it was invented during WW2. We then moved to another street food establishment and had fried pasta. They fry macaroni with cheese, pepper, and corn for on-the-go pasta consumption! Very interesting and very tasty. We then moved to a small limoncello factory to have some digestifs there. Ben was excited with this fantastic chemical engineering application. We then moved to a pastry shop where had some delicious sweets and finished at a gelato shop. We opened the bottle of wine we got before with our newfound corkscrew and went to a bar to have another glass of wine to finish off the night.
Friday we decided to take a trip to Capri. We hopped the ferry for a 50 minute ride over. We landed at Capri and instantly saw beautiful landscape. From the port we took a long and windy walk up off the main path up to the town of Capri. Along the way we saw many lemons and flowers which were very pretty. After a 30 minute walk we found a restaurant called Pizzeria Panorama, which had a great view as the name suggests. We both got pizza again and enjoyed the cool air and water that came along with it. We then walked around town and saw some great views. We eventually made our way back down to the pier and took the ferry back to Naples. We enjoyed a bottle of wine then went to dinner to have pasta once more to wrap up our time in Naples. Overall had a great time in Naples and a big highlight was the food. Lots of Pizza and Pasta for Ben and Brenna. Next to Amalfi!
June 17-22
The Amalfi Adventures
Wow. Wow. Wow. The Amalfi Coast, a very anticipated stop on our journey is here. Saturday morning we were picked up by our Amalfi host Carmine in Naples close to our B&B. We drove the hour and fifteen minute ride over to the Amalfi coast passing by Pompei and Mount Vesuvius along the way. The trip included many winding roads through the mountains and Carmine provided fantastic commentary for the drive and gave us information and suggestions about the Amalfi Coast. We finally arrived at our rented apartment in Pontone. Carmine showed us the apartment and we were really wowed. The view from the terrace was spectacular. You could see a whole valley of greenery with little groups of buildings along the mountains which were other small towns. Even more exciting than the view was the stove and the WASHING MACHINE. We had an opportunity to cook our own dinner and get all of our clothes totally clean. Pontone itself is a pretty small town. Situated 1000 steps up from Amalfi, the small town has 2 restaurants and 1 bar which doubled as a mini market. We needed some lunch so we walked over to one the the restaurants and got some pizzas. Carmine really recommended going to Ravello so that’s what we did next. Ravello is a bit higher up on an adjacent mountain peak to Pontone and the bus line to get there is currently out of service. We made the 25 minute hike up the steps to Ravello and we were sweating but not disappointed. The views were absolutely incredible and Ben even found a friendly dog that belonged to one of the shops along one of the main roads. We sat down to have a drink and just relax, looking at the view of the towns Minori and Maiori below and the mountains above them. We walked around town and found a place called Cumpa’ Cosimo to eat dinner which was extremely good. Their seafood pizza is Ben’s favorite pizza of the trip so far. We then walked back to Pontone and sat on the terrace looking at the night sky before going to sleep.
Sunday we decided we decided we wanted to see Amalfi. We went to the mini market and got some groceries to cook our own dinner and grab some bus tickets before heading down. We decided on a steps down-bus up approach for going to and from Amalfi. The steps down were long but not terrible in difficulty. It took us 20 minutes to get down. We arrived in Amalfi and saw boutique shops and restaurants all around on one main road perpendicular to the ocean. Much more crowded then Pontone, we weaved our way through the crowd toward the sea while looking around at the shops and restaurants surrounding us. We got to the beachfront and saw the beauty of the coastline. We grabbed some lunch and went to the beach to sit, relax, and swim for a bit. We got some gelato and took the bus back up to Pontone. We then cooked a pasta dinner in a red sauce with vegetables and some meat but unfortunately tripped the circuit breaker by having too many things happening at once. Carmine came and helped us out as the fuse box was outside our apartment so we couldn’t find it. We ate and watched some TV before going to bed.
Monday was super fun. We cooked some eggs for breakfast and made some morning coffee. We wanted to venture out from Amalfi so once again we decided to walk down the steps to Amalfi. We took a 25 minute ferry from Amalfi to Positano. The views of the coast were excellent from the boat. We arrived in Positano and immediately felt the heat of the day. Only haven eating the eggs in the morning, it was necessary to find some food. We walked along the beachfront of Positano and sat at one of the many restaurants there to get some pizza and drinks. Feeling the need to explore, we left and walked around into several different shops to look around and get some air conditioning. Positano had some spectacular views and looked a little more built up (literally) than Amalfi. All of the houses and shops went up the mountain, one on top of another. We were getting a little warm again so we decided to get some drinks at a place with fans. This place had a great view and was just the break we needed. We stopped in a couple more shops and took the next ferry back to Amalfi, once again admiring the views of the coast. We got some gelato before taking the bus back to Pontone. Ben thought he got Nutella flavored gelato but instead he just got frozen Nutella in a cone which was extremely thick. We then proceeded back to Pontone and ate the leftover pasta from the night before and called it a night.
Tuesday was crazy. Our terrace faces away from Pontone towards a village on the other side of the valley called Pogerola. We set out on a hike to the Valle Delle Ferriere (a known hiking trail) thinking about ambitiously going to Pogerola but we were unsure if we could. Having lots of water and Brenna certified snacks along the way we saw beautiful views of the valley and the forest and even went to a special reserve portion which had a 25 meter tall waterfall which was beautiful. The landscape of the Amalfi did not disappoint. After seeing the falls, we asked some other hikers to see where the trail was to Pogerola. All being tourists like us, no one was truly sure of the length or difficulty of the trail ahead but we decided to go for it. Climbing up what seemed like endless mountain trail, with some portions we weren’t even sure were part of the trail, we somehow made it to a reassuring sign that said Pogerola and pointed left. We took the turn after talking with some other hikers and it was mostly flat and downhill all the way to Pogerola. All in all we did 3 hours of hiking that day and saw some awesome views. We could see the place we were staying at across the valley and the whole town of Pontone looked so cool from the other side. Walking into Pogerola we found 3 groups of hikers we had talked to on our travels and had interesting reunion moments with everyone. We ended up eating at Gerry’s which brought back some memories of Jerry’s from Santorini. The one employee took our order, cooked it, and served it to us. Extremely hungry we got pizza and pasta and ate all of it. We took the bus down to Amalfi and then back up to Pontone where we rested before dinner. We went to the second of the two restaurants (the one we hadn’t been to yet) for dinner and had a great time. After that we did some laundry and fell asleep pretty fast since we had such a big day.
Our final day in Amalfi was pretty relaxing. We slept in from our monster day before and got some panini sandwiches from the local bar as a brunch meal. Once again we climbed the steps down to Amalfi and we sat on the beach for hours. After getting warm we ordered some lemon spritzes on the beach and got in the sea which was very refreshing. We took the bus back up to Pontone and stopped at our place briefly before heading back to Ravello for a second time this trip. We visited Villa Rufalo in Ravello which is a large property with lots of art, architecture, and great views. We took a million photos there and looked around before heading to dinner. We got a seafood platter appetizer and some pasta dishes. We then headed back and packed in preparation for our departure the next day.
Our Amalfi experience was fantastic, and we really appreciate the beauty of the landscape and the atmosphere of the area overall. Ravello was fantastic and should definitely be visited if you have the opportunity in Amalfi. Being slightly out of the way in Pontone was nice as the area was not super crowded which made it feel peaceful. Overall great stop on the trip and looking forward to Pompeii!
June 22-24
Perusing Pompeii
Our travels to Pompeii started with the bus. We went to the bus stop in Pontone but our bus came 10 minutes late. Once entering the bus the reason for this lateness was clear: it was a trainee bus driver. The scuff marks on the corner of the bus as well as the second senior looking employee indicated so. We took double the time to get down the mountain than normal and only just narrowly caught our ferry to Salerno. While we hadn’t seen much of Salerno, it looked very pretty from the short duration we were there and might be worth exploring if any readers are thinking of going. We got some food and took an earlier train than we initially scheduled (something we had no clue if it was allowed since our tickets were for the same train line but for an hour later but it worked out). We arrived in Pompeii and started walking towards our B&B. This walk was somewhat unpleasant as it was extremely warm and the walking directions on our phones were not making any sense. After a 20 minute walk which felt like an eternity in the sun, we showed up sweatily to the B&B. We checked in and took a little cool down break before heading out to explore the modern city of Pompeii. We walked into town and the biggest building of the whole town was the church which had a tower which was impressively decorated. We meandered around the town and got an afternoon snack and then headed back to our B&B so Brenna could take a meeting and Ben could work on the website. We went to a quiet, very authentic looking place for dinner and got some nice eggplant parm (first of the trip) as well as swordfish and fettuccini bolognese (both fantastic). After the dinner we got gelato and walked around town. We knew we had to prepare for ruins for the next day so we went to bed.
The next day we got the free breakfast that came with our B&B which consisted of pastries and coffee. We then headed out for our tour of the ancient city of Pompeii. We were very lucky with the weather as we had cloud cover for the first half of our tour and it only got warm towards the end. We saw several temples, houses of noble people, the amphitheater (which surprisingly hosts Pink Floyd concerts sometimes), and more! We the left our tour and took an hour of exploring the ruins on our own before leaving the site. We went to a restaurant for lunch that was supposed to recreate the ancient Roman cuisine in Pompeii. We were in fact invited to wear togas while we were dining but we were so warm and sweaty after the tour that we decided to decline. The traditional meal consisted of four courses including a dessert. After the meal we decided to go back to the B&B and cool off a bit. We had dinner at a restaurant near the Pompeii station called Pompeii Centrale which was nice. Afterwards we walked around and stopped into THE OLD WILD WEST for a beer. An establishment heavily decorated in everything you would find in a 80’s western movie including the US constitution. After the drink at the Old Wild West we wandered across the road to an arcade and played some games. Unfortunately we did not win enough tickets to win anything so we donated our 70 tickets to a child who needed the ticket more. We left the arcade to go back to the B&B and packed for our trip to Rome!
June 24-28
Roaming in Rome
The first day was truly a roaming day. We arrived by taking the train from Pompeii connecting through Naples. We arrived at Roma Termini Station and walked to our Airbnb stopping to get lunch along the way. We arrived at our place which was very nice and included a washer, small terrace, and a stove. We decided to head out to meander around and see some sights. The coliseum was within view after only five minutes of walking which is awesome to have that close to our place. We walked past the coliseum and the Roman Forum towards the center of town. There are tons of ruins and cool buildings all along that road that we ooo’d and ahhhh’d at. We went further into the weeds of Rome and eventually stumbled on the Trevi Fountain which was BUSY. People were shoulder to shoulder looking at the old fountain. We then moved west where Brenna bought a blue leather bag. After the shopping excursion we moved on to the Parthenon which was very impressive. We roamed around a bit more South along the Tiber River but we were then caught in the rain. We found shelter under a bus stop but eventually decided to just walk in it. We made our way back to the apartment and Brenna took a med school advising meeting while Ben grabbed some groceries. We made pasta and drank concoctions of some different liquors we got in Amalfi. We finished the night with an evening stroll by the coliseum.
The next day we had our tour of the Coliseum, Roman Forum, and Palintine Hill. We met our tour guide and she instantly started to give facts about the coliseum and the history of Rome. Our favorite facts were that it took 22 elephants to move one of the large statues in the area and that the coliseum was built in 8 years. We then entered the coliseum where we got to see different exhibits. These included some statues that no longer took their original spot along the side of the ruin and large models of what the coliseum used to look like. The most fasenating part to Ben was the underground elevators they used underneath the floor of the coliseum to have animals and gladiators pop up out of the stage. We walked around on the ground floor and one level up, following our guide as she gave us plenty of facts. We left to go to the Palatine Hill area which had some great views of the city but was super hot with minimal shade. Our tour guide kept giving us historical information and we could feel that we were hitting our history quota as we were standing in this heat. We went down to the Roman Forum and we were getting pretty cooked at that point. The ruins are definitely cool but we were having a hard time following the history at this stage. The tour ended and everyone in the tour was ready to head out to find shade and food. We went back to our neighborhood and went to this fantastic place directly across the road from the coliseum named Cafe Martini e Rossi where we got lunch (P&P) and refreshing beverages. We went back to our apartment and relaxed, did some website work, and ate the leftovers from the night before for dinner.
Monday we had our tour of the Vatican. We first went to Trastevere for lunch as it is on the way (some more pizza) before heading over to our tour’s starting location. We took a cab over and started walking. We entered the Vatican museum and got earpieces so we could hear our tour guide in the crowded space. Before heading into the main area of the museum we stood in the courtyard for historical background and initial explanation of the art in the Sistine chapel. The museum was beautiful with loads of art and sculptures, although our earpieces didn’t work well so we couldn’t really hear our guide so that was a bit of a bummer. We finished our tour with free time in the Sistine chapel simply standing in a crowd and looking all around at the beauty of the room. We exited and our tour officially ended there as St. Peter’s Basilica was not included in the tour. We went in and the Basilica was HUGE and BEAUTIFUL. Wowzers, extremely decorated and very impressive. We eventually left and got a snack at a restaurant in the neighborhood. We then took the metro back to the Coliseum stop and went for a nice dinner at a rooftop place close to where we were staying. We got full on first and second courses which was awesome. Ben got a whole sea-bass as a second course and swallowed some bones for sure. We stopped off around the corner for a quick drink after dinner. We saw a cute dog and Ben tried absinthe in a wild and wacky move which is an anise flavored alcohol with high proof (pretty good). We walked home after that and made a plan for our last day in Rome.
Tuesday we decided to get out of the crowded touristy area of Rome for the start of the day. We took the metro down to the EUR to check out the Parco Centrale del Lago. It was very pretty and empty. We saw a place to rent a duck boat and got very excited but they were unfortunately not open. We walked around and went to a cafe for lunch where we ordered drinks and then the server brought out some random sandwiches (the situation was a bit confusing) that we didn’t order. In any case we ate it because we were planning on ordering sandwiches anyways. We left the cafe and completed our circle around the lake in the park and got back on the metro. We went all the way to the Spagna stop to see the Spanish steps which was awesome. We walked from there to the Piazza del Popolo which had a tall structure with hyrogliphics on it maybe? We were unsure. We climbed up the steps to the Villa Borghese area which had some beautiful gardens. We rented a four wheel two person bike contraption that was almost like a car and went around for an hour looking around which was fun. We then had to head out to find the restaurant we were doing our Pizza and Tiramisu making class. We meandered on over and got there a little early so we sat down and had a drink. After the whole group arrived we started on making the tiramisu doing a lot of whisking of an egg yolk and sugar and adding some other things to it to make the creamy portion of the dessert. We then dipped the biscuits in coffee and layered them with the cream inside a cup and set it in a fridge to harden while we made the pizza. We formed the pizza dough first but dough usually takes hours in the fridge to be ready for use so the dough we made got donated to the homeless and we used dough the staff had made before the class. Brenna had no problem forming her pizza while Ben made some holes in his dough and had to start over. We selected the toppings we wanted and the pizzas went into the oven. We sat down and the staff brought them out to us along with some drinks. They gave us some additional bruschetta and finished with the tiramisu we made before. We left the restaurant to go to the Piazza Navona which is a square surrounded by some beautiful buildings during the sunset where we watched some street performers. We then went to the Parthenon one more time and then made our way to the Trevi fountain to throw in a coin as we forgot to do that the first time. We went back to the apartment and packed up before our train to Florence the next day.
June 28-July 1
Firenze Fanatics!
Sooo we changed up the plan a bit, we initially were planning on going to a small town north of Rome called Viterbo but we decided that was not exciting enough so we went to Florence! We woke up on Wednesday and went to Rome Termini from the Colosseo station. We got to Termini with time to spare so Brenna did a little “Power Shopping” to get some new clothes in the mix. We got on the train and a couple hours later we had arrived in Florence. We got out of the train station and grabbed some lunch and headed to our new apartment to stay in. Brenna had a meeting so Ben decided to go to another gym for a fun little workout. We then went for dinner in the Piazza della Repubblica square where we ate some pasta. We then walked around town seeing some very interesting sights like the Duomo and the Ufizzi Gallery. The sunset from the bridge over the river was amazing. We decided that the initial pasta we had was not enough food so we split a pizza and a slice of cheesecake as a late night snack before finishing the day.
The following day we wanted to see some of the exhibits in Florence. We booked tickets to the Ufizzi gallery and saw pieces from several famous artists including Michelangelo and Botticelli. The extremely well known Birth of Venus painting was very cool to see and the map room is also extremely cool. We tried to go to some other galleries and museums but unfortunately they were super booked up and we had neglected to get tickets for other things in advance so we had to settle for just the Ufizzi. We went to an Irish pub for a couple drinks and then split a lobster-pasta special at a restaurant for dinner. We hit the town to check out the night life a bit and headed back.
The following day we had to bust out the emergency rain ponchos since we got caught in the rain again but we expected it this time. We walked to see the Duomo but the line was INSANELY long so we decided to not go. We got some coffee and pastries at a cafe and meandered to the Pitti palace which we did book tickets in advance. This palace has 5 exhibits including the Royal Apartments, Contemporary Fashion, Contemporary Art, Older Art, and Russian Icons. We weren’t super interested in the Russian Icons portion as one may expect but we looked at the rest of the exhibits. All super cool stuff and the fashion was very interesting. After the palace we quickly regrouped at the apartment. Ben’s parents were coming into town since this was a brief stop of theirs before our time with both our families in Siena so we planned to meet them. We grabbed some lunch with them and then Ben gave a certified accurate tour of Florence since he is obviously an expert in the 2 days he spent there prior. We then sat down to eat at a place where we had Florence’s specialty: beef steak. It was fantastic. We also got a traditional dessert which is a plate of biscuits and a glass of sweet wine. You dip the biscuit into the sweet wine and then eat it, very intriguing but very good.
Saturday we had time in the morning to tour around a little bit, this time with Ben’s sister Bunnie and her husband and son Kieran and Nathan. Ben once again performed his famous tour of Florence and meandered around, Nathan went on a carousel, and Ben had another seafood pizza before taking the train to leave Florence.
July 1-5
The Snail Will Prevail!!!
To the Villa! The two of us along with Bunnie, Kieran, and Nathan got on a train in Florence and arrived in Siena. We saw some nice countryside views on the train and Nathan enjoyed a nice nap. On arrival, we found a grocery store in the station so we stopped to get some food, and more importantly wine. We took a taxi to the Tuscany Villa we were staying at (yea swanky I know) and we’re amazed by the landscape unfolding around us. The hills with grape vines and sunflowers greeted us on the drive into the estate. It took quite some time down this gravel road to get to our place but we eventually succeeded. We met Ben’s parents as they had arrived an hour or so before us and settled into our new accommodation. Eventually Brenna’s family came along and we all sat and had some food. Some folks went to sleep as they were jet lagged so overall a more relaxed afternoon of just relaxing and drinking some wine in the backyard.
The next day we went into town. There was much excitement going on as the famous horse of Siena, The Palio, was that day. On arrival Ben and Brenna’s families choose which of the 17 mascots they wanted to support. Each mascot was a different animal, Ben’s family chose the snail and Brenna’s family chose the turtle. Each of the mascots represented different neighborhoods in Siena that compete in this race that is held twice a year. In the different neighborhoods, flags can be observed showing pride for their community in Siena. Of the 17 districts, only 10 compete in each race (the 7 that didn’t compete in the last race and 3 random others). We saw the track that they race on in the city square with all of the temporary stands setup as well as the Duomo of Siena. We traveled back to the villa and prepared to watch the race on the TV. Everyone gathered around to see if the Snail or the turtle would prevail. In the end, it was the rhino that won. While it was a devastating loss for both families, that did not stop us from having a good time. We continued the night with more wine and chatted while looking at the sunset over the beautiful Tuscany countryside.
After the loss in the Palio from the night before, Ben was inspired to take matters into his own hands and go horseback riding (not really). Bunnie, Ben’s dad Herb, and Ben made their way to a nearby farm and saddled up some horses. We did an hour and half guided tour through several estates taking us through the sunflower patch and in between valleys and such. This was Ben’s second time on a horse ever so when the horse decided to give its side a scratch on a tree Ben simply became one with the tree. Ben’s horse was also having some bug difficulties so every now and then the horse would stop and try to itch itself which was interesting. All and all, great experience. After the horse adventure, we went into Siena and everyone came together and met up at a restaurant in the main square. The restaurants once covered by stands were open for business. Everyone at our 11 person table got pizza (Ben got a calzone but that’s just folded pizza). Afterwards we split up and explored the city separately as some folks didn’t see things that another group saw the day before. We returned to the house and waited for our host Lorenzo to take us to our wine tour! The wine tour includes a tasting of four wines that are produced on the property. The wines were great and had a much more mineral taste than other wines we’ve had which is due to the history of the land the grapes are grown on. We also learned that eating wine with cheese and eating wine without cheese are two different things and if the tannins are too much for you, just cheese your mouth! We continued the party back at the house after the wine tasting with a barbecue. There was meat, octopus, and salad! Per normal, more wine finished the evening.
Our last full day in Tuscany was great. The two families split up to take road trips and see different towns close by. Ben’s family took a trip to Montalcino which is where Brunello is made. Brunello is a special wine made from Sangiovese grapes. We entered the town and it was extremely beautiful. The town is located atop a hill giving views of the beautiful landscape unfolding in all directions around the town. We went to lunch near the town center and of course had some Brunello which was fantastic. We walked all around the small town and when we were satisfied we left. Brenna’s family went to Monteriggioni which was a similar experience of a small town with very scenic views all around. We then came back together at the house and we went to the pool for a little bit before the chef came in to make the group dinner for the evening. We returned to our chef already in the kitchen. We sat down and we’re served a four course meal with 4 bottles of wine paired with the food. We proceeded to just relax and enjoy our remaining time in Siena.
This concludes our time in Italy! It was fantastic, our trip to the Amalfi Coast was for sure a big highlight of Italy, just the scienery and atmosphere are so stunning there. Italy also provided some great historical sights as well going to Naples, Pompei and Rome, there is lots of history to learn about and ruins to see. We really look forward to France! We are super excited for new cuisine and also The South of France is one of the nicest places in the world so that’s very exciting. Next stop Nice!
