Day #12: Day trip to Siena...what you see is what we saw. Siena is a super small medieval town, surrounded by a wall. This square was quite the gathering place for all the locals. After a quick bite to eat we were excited to get back on the train ready to head down to Rome.
Day #13: Touring Vatican City, and shopping
One of the many popes buried in the chapel. This one was covered in wax.
Touring the Coliseum, and Roman Forum
Day #14- Angels and Demons Tour
Another tour I found on TripAdvisor was this Angels and Demons tour-- it followed all the sights and storyline from the Angels and Demons book by Dan Brown. Taking you through all the elements of Earth, Wind, Water and Fire. This tour did not disappoint! Fun to see the sights and find out all the truths and half truths found in Dan Brown's book. He has quite the imagination!
The book and the tour ended at the St. Angelo's Castel....lined with Angels.
And the not so secret passageway to the Vatican. This was built for use and used once by a pope. From a secret room in the Vatican this is a wall built with a runway to sneak the pope into the Castel.
Day #15: The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps. All seen on foot!
There is a movie about the Trevi fountain, called "The 3 coins," because of this so many people come here to throw their 3 coins in. However, legend here tells us that 1 coin- means you hope to return to Rome one day, 2 coins- means you want to find love and marry, and 3 coins- means you are seeking divorce. Phew! Always nice to talk with the locals ;)
Day #15: Naples and Pompeii
The only picture we took in Naples. The local tour guide warned us and made us promise to not leave his side. Not a very comforting warning in a place you do not know. Naples I guess used to be flourishing with promise and tourists, but is now overtaken by the Italian mafia. The mafia with all of their control makes it necessary for all tour buses to stop there to this day. Needless to say not a whole lot to see, and no real reason to stop.
Pompeii on the other hand....wished I could have stayed longer! Sooooo worth the 2 hr bus ride down!
Pompeii is a little town on the coast that used to be thriving and bustling with tourists. It was a port city and many came and went. It is hard to imagine that once Mt Vesuvius erupted, so many had died, living life as normal. It was great to tour and find out how it may have happened.
It is said that the people of Pompeii did not know that they lived next to a volcano, or what a volcano was. They felt that their God was angry at them. The volcanic ash was toxic making it hard for them to see, hard to breathe, and big rocks were falling from the sky leaving them no place to run.
They were pretty well advanced. Pictured below are hot pots. Pompeii's version of "fast food"
Running water, mosaics, grocery stores, they had it all...
While they were excavating they would find a hollowed out hole, and would find bones in all of them. One man suggested filling the holes with plaster to see who the bones belonged to and found many body casts of people that died. Pompeii was amazing. I wished we had more time.
Day's #16 and #17 we spent relaxing at the spa, and shopping - getting geared up for our long trip home and of course #18 was spent flying the 12 1/2 hrs. home.
Italy was the trip of a lifetime! How blessed we are to have been able to see, and experience so much in 18 short days. Sweet Brooklyn and Chris Brower came and stayed with our kids and made it so we could rest easy. Grateful for them! And for our good, responsible kids that were able to finish off the school year without parental guidance. What a fun way to bring in 40....came back refreshed, rejuvenated and appreciative of those that came before us.
