Ciao Bella- a month in Italy begins

*there are two cities in this post so don't miss the second half after Rome!

Rome

I spent 6 days in Rome with Nikki and Andrew and stayed in 4 different places all around the city! While this may sound a bit tiresome to most (I must admit it was) I was able to stay all over the city and get to know it very well. Now that I have left I have come to realize that I really love Rome and the more time you spend there the more you will fall in love with it. It is a historical city filled with so much to do. This was my second visit to Rome but it was very different than my first. When I first went in 2006 I went for only a short time so it was a jam packed trip filled with site seeing and delicious meals. This time around I was able to walk around the entire city and get to know the area while enjoying the sites for a second time around.

My favorite site to see in Rome will always be the Colosseum. It was just as amazing the second time around. It is truly incredible to stand and look up into so much history. It reminds you how much bigger life is than your little world and it is just remarkable. I did some heavy site seeing for three days which included all I wanted to see while in Rome. On my last day of site seeing we went to see the Vatican even though it was raining. After a train ride and a decent walk in the rain we arrived to the Vatican- soaking wet- to realize it was closed! I was not shocked at all as most of the sight seeing we had done until then had gone pretty smoothly and it was about time for something to go askew. We took pictures in the rain outside the gate, had a good little laugh, and decided to just indulge in some of the very famous and delicious gelato that Italy has to offer.

Rome was a fun city. We all walked SOOOO much and were very tired at the end of each day. We ate a lot but Rome is very touristy so it was a little tough to find authentic Italian food in the city. On our last night we did luck out with a delicious meal and friendly service. Rome is just a lovely city. It is filled with so much history and it is quite impressive to see. My backpacking crew continues to grow smaller as it is just me and Nikki now. After two short weeks of tons of laughs, lots of sites, amazing travel experiences, and an absurd amount of delicious food, Andrew made his way back to the states. Nikki and I continued with our Italian adventure but we will be parting ways soon. Thanks for joining us for the time that you did Andrew! I hope you got a taste of the backpacker lifestyle and fell in love with it just like I did!

My favorite site- the Colosseum

Arch of Constantine

Roman Forum

bad nose job

ruins

Great view of the Colosseum

Trevi Fountain

Tourists everywhere!

Band in the piazza

Amazing shorts!

my favorite Piazza

Inside the Pantheon

Piazza at night

Italian food!

Spanish Steps- once again- tourists everywhere!

Vatican Walls- makes a Giant look small

The Vatican is closed?!- oh yeah, and it is raining! AMAZING!

The Bakery I spent 20 Euros at! Opps!

Ciao and farewell to another backpacker

Amazing sidewalk chalk

Old track where they used to do Chariot races

Pretty River

Gnocchi- one of my favorites!

Gelato!

St. Peters Basilica (the Dome)

We loved Rome!

Sorrento- living la Dolce Vita- the art of doing nothing!

After a busy 5 days of site seeing in Rome I was ready for a couple of days of relaxation in the South of Italy. A couple of days turned into a week while staying at a nice B&B in Sorrento called Mama Camilla's. Nikki joined me for a week of the sweet life and we definitely mastered the "art of doing nothing".... also known as the Italian way of life. We managed to see two other picturesque towns during our stay there but for the most part most of our activities included eating, relaxing, beaching it, and making friends.

We  were able to see the lovely Positano half way through our time in Sorrento. To give you a small bit of background on the area these pretty Italian towns are all built in the cliffs. They are absolutely beautiful but as you can imagine the roads to get to and from each of them are like a roller coaster. I got a little bus sick on the way to Positano but I made it there and enjoyed the incredible cliff and ocean views along the way. Once we were in town we went back to our lazy ways and napped on the beach before walking the small town to get some good pictures- my camera died- of course!- so Nikki and our new Brazilian friend Danni did most of the photo work. Positano is built up and down a cliff so after a couple of hours on the beach and walking around we made our way up what felt like a 1000 stairs to catch our bus back to Sorrento.

After a few days at Mama Camilla's Nikki and I had made quite a few friends- one of them who had been living there for a month and offered to take a group of us out for a night in Sorrento with his Italian friends. We had an amazing night! A group of about 10 of us spent the entire night dancing until 6am. We were even able to catch the sun coming up just a bit right before we all happily cuddled into our beds. The night out in Sorrento was amazing but Nikki and I had to catch a boat early the next morning to visit the Island town Capri. We were both in pretty poor shape, but naturally, I was in rare form. The first half of the boat trip were not my best hours and when we arrived to Capri I definitely took the cable car up to the top of the cliff town instead of climbing the stairs like in Positano. I am happy to say I was pretty entertaining company for those around so it was worth it to me. Once back on the boat I jumped into the freezing cold amazingly blue water of Capri and felt refreshed and energized for the rest of the trip. I enjoyed the afternoon on a boat and was happy to have had both great experiences! My time in the South was great! I made new friends, enjoyed my stay at Mama Camilla's, and even ate pizza in Naples on my way out of the South (it may have been train station pizza but it was still delicious!). I am now in Venice and make my way to Florance tomorrow.... a little less than a month left in my adventures! As always, thanks for following!

Pizza in Sorrento- so good!

First cliff view in Sorrento

Giant ball of cheese!

So pretty

Positano

On our way down in Positano- already scared for the climb up!

Our day at the concrete beach in Sorrento- no sand! Nikki and Danni

More gelato

Olive oil- yum

Night out in Sorrento

I thought I could steal a scooter :) - not even close

Capri

From the boat on Capri

On the boat- can't ever get a picture of this girl without the camera stuck to her face!

Pretty and very cold water

Last night in Sorrento- trying to make a Greek style pizza- fries on everything!