The best thing to come out of Rome...Ted and Britt!

Wow. That is the one word I will use to summarize Rome.  When we thought things were going rough, we didn't realize they would be rough for the other remaining day in Rome!!!
I (Britt) am currently sitting in the Chicago airport waiting patiently for my plane to show which is already two hours delayed:(  Ted, meanwhile, made his way to France for work.
I will finish one more entry tonight or tomorrow to bid farewell to our trip and the remaining stories from our last 24 hours in Rome!  Let's just say, it is full of s**t, in more ways than one!  I hope the suspense is killing you now....

Day 9-Optimism. THEE key word for the day.

Well, we are here to bear some very bad news.  Today we had our camera and camcorder stolen.  Zero pictures from our trip backed up, minus the few we have uploaded onto our blog.  We have replayed in our head over and over what likely happened.  We believe we left the black camera bag in the car and it blended in with the seats and interior.  Not realizing it until an hour later when we got off the train, did we end up back tracking to the car rental company.  By this point, the car had already been cleaned out and washed and no bag in sight.  Very unfortunate people would stoop to this level, but I suppose whoever decided to keep the camera will make a few dollars on the black market selling it.  Good thing we didn't have any dirty photos our ourselves which could have been leaked online;-)

Not only did we unfortunately lose these two precious items, but we also managed to ride the wrong train to our destination, and our B and B owner was not anywhere to be found when we arrived.  Ted had to find a pay phone only to call a number which was no longer the owners.  Luckily, he remembered a sign we saw advertising the B and B when we came out of the subway, and was able to finally get a hold of him.  There went another hour.  By 6:00 we headed down to make our way to the Vatican but first had to find something to eat as we hadn't had a chance to eat since 9 this morning.  Instead of sitting down at a restaurant, we were going to follow a sign to McDonald's.  We kept following it in circles until finally we walked right into a BK.  Saving grace.  Gelato would be our next as we had marked the best gelato spot in Rome and it was, by far, the best gelato we have ever tasted.  This may have been the ONLY thing which went our way today.  So be it.  Onto the Vatican we went.  Come to find out they shut it down early today to prepare for a big event tomorrow and we were unable to tour.  Walking with our heads low, we made it back to the bed and breakfast.  Realizing the Iowa State game was on, we attempted to link into their wireless.  The only connection we managed was one which is forcing us to sit in the hall on the tile floor, with our rear end numb, to watch the Cyclones get their tales kicked.  While we joked we would write an obituary for our camera and camcorder, I think we would rather just call it a night.  Life could always be worse, right?  

Day 8-Orvieto and Tivoli

Our last evening in the Tuscan countryside, we laid awake to what we thought were shotguns being fired at the wild boar.  As that didn’t make much sense when it was pitch black, after hearing this increasing in intensity, we looked outside to be greeted by fireworks.  It was so thoughtful for Tuscany to be wishing us off on our last night.  Thanks for three amazing days!

The fireworks display outside our window

Same photo from yesterday, but in black and white.

Morning sunrise outside our window.

Up and on the road this morning, our goal was to stop in Orvieto on our way South today.  Orvieto is a city which sits on top of a volcanic “tuff”.  We went on a tour of Orvieto underground.  The underground consists of tunnels which were built 800 B.C!  Can you believe that?  It was incredible to see how they lived in these caves so long ago.

Water well!  It keeps going...and going....and going...

Can you guess what the holes are for?  Pigeons!
They  captured and killed the pigeons for food.

More cats!  Britt kept clear of the 8 we counted in this small area.

We also snapped some photos of the Duomo in Orvieto.  We passed on the tour this time.

On the road again we continued our journey south to Tivoli.  We found our B&B and made our way into the central part of town to grab lunch/dinner.  As we were enjoying our dinner, we couldn’t help but notice The Golden Girls walk by!

Post lunch/dinner we walked through Villa d’Este.  The Villa d’Este was commissioned by the Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, grandson of Pope Alexander VI.  Between 1550 and 1572, the magical gardens were created.  Plenty of innovation was required to bring a sufficient supply of water for all of the pools and water fountains. 

Ted started it..

Now for a relaxing evening before heading to Rome in the morning.  We will drop our rental car at the airport and catch a bus into our B&B for the last two days of our Italian adventure.

Until then, it's time for some sleep.  As you can see, some of us are ahead of others!

Day 7 - Siena

Another day in the books and it feels as though we are winding down on our trip already.  Time sure flies when you’re having fun!  Especially when you are having foreign fun!

As you can see, Ted snapped a few perfect shots this morning from our window.  I woke up long enough to congratulate him on the images and eeewww and ahhhh at the fog setting over the trees while the sun was rising making for the perfect picture. 

I am still having difficulty adjusting to the time and do not want to get up early in the mornings.  Being that we are on vacation, I will use that as a valid excuse.  We finally got up and moving just after 9 am here.  Ate breakfast and made it back to Tavarnuzze, which is Ted’s favorite Italian word to hop on ‘ole #37 bus.  We rode the bus into the main stop and found a chartered bus to Siena.  I read reviews that it was the easiest option compared to driving into Siena and finding a place to park on the outskirts of town. 

Once in Siena, it was already 1:00 pm, so we began walking to the city center.  We found a local joint that met our eye and grabbed a few slices of peeezaaahhhh.  Oh were they tasty.  Can you imagine what followed next?  You got it!

We enjoyed our gelato in the Piazza del Campo, their central square, which some say is the best in Italy.  Interestingly enough, twice a year, the square is converted into a horse race track for the Siena’s Palio.  The Palio is a contest between the 17 neighborhoods which encompass Siena and have divided the city since the Middle Ages.  So one can imagine the bragging rights which come with this territory.  I would imagine it being similar to an Iowa/ Iowa State rivalry, but add 15 other teams!  The first recorded running occurred all the way back in 1310!  As the square only fits ten horses, the remaining 7, along with three chosen at random from the first race of the summer, then race in the second race a month later.  Interestingly enough, the horses and jockeys are chosen at random.  Bribery, secret plots, and betrayal are commonplace.  In the past, there has even been stories of drugging the horses and kidnapping the jockeys!    

Piazza del Campo - Home of the Palio

Yeah, I wasn't sure what to think about when I saw this. Apparently, these are twin boys that were raised by a wolf.  This is the symbol for the neighborhood of Siena that we were in.  

Anyways, post gelato, we found our way to Siena’s Duomo.  We bought a ticket which allowed access to numerous points within the cathedral.  This one proved to be even more beautiful than the Duomo in Florence!   We spent hours walking around and photographing as you can see by a few of our favorite photos.

When we had enough, we felt it was time to make our way back to Florence.  And, while in Florence, why not grab another sandwich for dinner at All’ antico Vinaio?  We made our way to the square with the many sculptures and enjoyed our sandwich under the Florence night sky.  What a great way to end our time in Tuscany!

We head to Orvieto and Tavoli tomorrow, which are on the outskirts of Rome.

Good morning sunrise!

Quick note this morning.  I awoke to Britt's sunrise alarm and was going to sleep right through it, but something told me to look outside.  I am so glad that I did.  We'll be back tonight with updates.

The Tuscan countryside and an evening in Florence

Setting our alarm early in an attempt to watch the sunrise, we failed miserably.  Staying up too late last night did not help the situation.  But, we figured, we have two more mornings where we will attempt again. 

Today marked Day 6 of our trip.  We set forth on a journey to the countryside and set up a tour at a local castle/olive farm/vineyard.  We took a six person guided tour and learned about the heritage of the land, along with the process which takes place to produce wine.  Being engineers, we actually found this fascinating.  Our guide’s name was Gio and would probably be at the top of our list of guides all time.  He was in his 50’s and had passion for Tuscany and the wine making process.  He had married an American, so he had very good English and could talk with a New York accent like he was a native.  The vineyard we visited was approximately 550 acres.  The farm/vineyard had been established in the early 1500’s and has been producing meat and wine ever since.  It is pretty amazing all the work and techniques that it takes to produce the wine.  Gio showed us the cellar of the vineyard owner and there were thousands of bottles of wine in it which were hundreds of years old.   Many of the bottles would sell for thousands of dollars.  Gio said the wine likely would not taste good, but it was drinking history.  Not sure that is worth a thousand dollars in my opinion. 

This is the enemy Castle/vineyard of the place we toured today

The last remaining grapes from the season

These grapes will be made into holy wine and only 1/3 of what you see here will be used

Nice shot of pond behind Castle

Evil cat that bit Britt - Britt is now purring like a cat - not sure if that is good or bad

Once the tour was finished, we drove around the countryside before finally turning on the GPS to navigate us back to our B&B.  The peace and tranquility was trumped briefly by shotguns, as it is currently wild boar hunting season.  Plenty of hooting and hollering could be heard amongst the firing as well. 

This evening we decided to head back to Florence to walk the streets and of course grab a bite to eat.  Britt wanted to revisit the sandwich shop, and although the sandwich this evening wasn’t nearly as great as yesterday’s, it was still outstanding!  Gelato also found it’s way to our hearts this evening, not once, but twice.  We had visit two stands which were recommended in our book and on TripAdvisor.  Both ranked in the Top 3 for both of us, but likely not our #1.  We did revisit the touristy spots to capture some fantastic nighttime shots, courtesy of both of our amateur photography skills. 

Sun setting on the country side at our B&B

Front of The Duomo

GELATO! Numero Uno

Duomo Square

Florence River night shot

Tomorrow we will head over to Siena.   

Raphael of the da Preying Mantice clan - Ted hopes to meet Michelangelo and Donatello before he leaves

Day 5 -Florence and the beautiful Tuscan countryside

Today marks the halfway point of our trip.   Tear.  We set our alarm for 7:30 to try and hit the road at a decent time.  Britt awoke to an alarm and couldn’t believe it was already time to get up.  She grabbed her phone and realized it wasn’t coming from her cell phone, rather, an alarm clock already in the room.  Thankfully, it was only 4:30.  Hitting some buttons to shut the alarm clock off, she quickly fell back asleep.  Shortly there after, another ding ding ding and the alarm clock went off again. Finally, she had had enough, and found her way to the off button.  Soon enough, it really did turn into 7:30, but, we figured, it’s vacation, why not sleep another hour.  After a quick breakfast with the host, we jetted out of town and onto the autostrade.  Britt closely monitored Ted’s speed to ensure maximum fuel efficiency and a short one hour trip later, we found our way to Le Fonte del Machiavelli in the Tuscany countryside.  Britt could not quit beaming as she knew she picked a beautiful location with rolling hills and vineyards as their backdrop. 

Unloading our bags, we quickly found our way to a small town and dropped our car off in free parking and hopped on the #37 bus into Florence.  We disembarked and began making our way to a local sandwich shop which was rated #1 on TripAdvisor as well as mentioned in our Italy book.  Weaving our way through the streets, Britt finally noticed a long line by a shop and knew we had found the location.  Ted went with a recommended sandwich in the book, prochetta.  Britt opted to have the sandwich guru behind the counter surprise her.  It appeared he tossed a few different spreads on the focaccia bread, along with eggplant, and salami.  We can honestly say that this placed lived up to its’ expectations!  By far, the best food we have had all week, and it was only a simple sandwich shop.  With food in our bellies, we were ready to stroll the city and check out a few sites.

Best Sandwiches Ever!

First stop, Piazza della Signoria  This area was an open square with statues surrounding the grounds.  Amazing artwork and to think what tools existed for them to sculpt in such beautiful ways.  When we had taken enough photographs of the strong men (we aren’t quite sure what the artists infatuation with naked men was, but Ted has seen enough uncircumcised wieners for the rest of his life), Ted insisting on stopping for some gelato.  Britt went with cherry and Ted opted for a mixed berry.  Both were tasty to the palate.

 Onward we went to the Duomuo or also know as Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.  Each major city within Italy seems to have a Duomo.  This is the Italian equivalent to Cathedrals around Europe.  They are called Duomo’s due to the large dome at the center of the church.  Each duomo is shaped like a cross very similar to the Cathedrals around Europe.  The Florence duomo is the largest brick dome every constructed and this still holds true today.  This is amazing as the structure was built from 1296-1436.  Can you imagine the wooden structures, pulley systems, and other mechanisms they had to create to build this structure?  Absolutely amazing.

Front of Duomo

Exterior of the Duomo

The inside of the Duomo - Painting of The Last Judgement

Walking through the Duomo was free and we admired the amazing architecture encompassing the grounds.  We both took photographs and some videography to capture the moment before walking outside to finding our entrance to climb to the top.  8 Euro each and 463 steps later, we made it.  Walking in circles straight to the top for 200+ stairs can be mentally exhausting, and can rather, make your head spin.  But, it was well worth it for the view of the city.  We would highly recommend this to anyone who isn’t afraid of tight quarters and heights.   Even if you are slighty afraid of either, suck it up and goJ

At the top of the Duomo and the amazing Florence view behind us

View going back down the Duomo - This baby had some curvature

Upon returning to the base, it was on to an open market area to see if anything stood out to us.  Negative.  While we did not make any purchases here, Ted wanted to stop back at another location where local artists were selling their own paintings.  We purchased two small items, which will sit perfectly in our European themed bathroom.

Hand Painting - Only 15 Euro!

Hand painting - Only 7 Euro!

Overcome with exhaustion, we felt Florence and the Mikels’ needed to part ways.  Back on the local bus we went, only to be told at the last stop, we had taken the wrong bus.   Oops.  All Britt’s fault.  Back into town we went, and onto the correct bus.  Stopping at the Supermarketo across from where we parked, typical Italian snacks were purchased to pass time this evening as we write our blog.

Tomorrow’s plan: Travel the back roads of Tuscany and visit several Castles .

We leave you with a picture of our new friend - Leonardo da Preying Mantice