Italy, France, and Spain 2012

Travis and I were able to go on a trip of a lifetime!  We did a Mediterranean Cruise that ported out of Rome, Italy.  We flew in 2 days early to be able to see more of Rome and fall in love!  We were able to convince my best friend from High School  and her husband to join us on this adventure! 

 

Meredith Salisbury & Kristen Decker

Inside the Roman Colosseum 

Travis leaving his mark at a famous sight....actually Dave dared him to and said he would pay him 5 Euros for it!

Travis & I with the Arch of Constantine behind us.  A mark that Christianity would be accepted in the Roman Empire. 

 

 

Their drinking fountains in Rome, it was really good water. 

 Meredith at the Roman Forum.  This is the area Julius Caesar ruled.

 

I saw a lot of people taking pictures of this mound behind a wall, come to find out it is where Julius Caesar's ashes are buried. Amazing! 

 

Mamertime Prison

This is the prison where Peter the Apostle was imprisoned for 9 months in Rome.  He was chained to the column near the table/alter.

 



The Victor Emmanuel Monument

The monument, designed by Guiseppe Sacconi in 1911, is named after Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of the unified Italy, and is also known as “Il Vittoriano”. It features Corinthian columns, majestic stairways and a huge sculpture of Victor Emmanuel on horseback. To give you some idea of the sculpture’s size, 21 workers dined inside the belly of the horse before it was sealed

 

 Trevi Fountain

The fountain’s central figure is Neptune (god of the sea) who is riding a shell-shaped chariot pulled along by two horses.

There’s an old tradition of throwing coins into the fountain. Legend has it that the first coin ensures your return to Rome, the second coin leads to a romance with an Italian and the third leads to marriage with that person. And in case you’re wondering where all that cash goes to, workers hoover up around EUR 3,000 every day which is distributed to a number of charities.                   

Meredith & Kristen throwing in our first coin, I though I saw her trying to throw in a second (j/k)

This fountain was gorgeous and VERY crowded!

 The Pantheon

This place was so old and amazing.  It dates back to 120AD, and even the original floor from when the  ancient Roman's feet walked across it!

 Among the illustrious names buried here are the Italian kings Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, and the Renaissance painter Raphael.

It is one of the best-preserved of all Roman buildings

That night we were so tired of walking, we had already been up for almost 32 hours (from traveling and then straight into sight seeing). 

We found a cute Italian Pizzeria in the street and had a great meal and of course afterwards we went for Gelato! (my favorite)

We were told this was the best Gelato in Rome, I have to say it didn't disappoint!

 

DAY 2

Finally refreshed from a good night's sleep and on the time change of the Italian's!  This was a cute fruit stand we would pass every morning.  They don't have large grocery stores, so this is where they all come for their produce.



It was a quite the rainy day that day

 

Spainish Steps in the Piazza di Spagna

Created by Francesca de Sanctis at the request of Innocent XII in the 18th century, they are so called because the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See was once situated in the piazza. In the 19th century, this was a place for the fine and dandy to pose and swoon. It hasn't changed a great deal: the curved flights and terraces still fill up with chattering crowds late into the summer nights.

They are occasionally used for exclusive night-time fashion shows and as a backdrop for films such as 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' with Jude Law and Matt Damon.                   

These Famous Steps are usually packed with teenagers (a big hang out), but with the rain it was ALL clear.

Meredith & Kristen striking a pose on the Spanish Steps

 

On top of the Spanish Steps.

 

The Vatican



In front of St. Peter's Basilica

Painting's in the Museum

This painting is of the battle of Constantine, where he became converted to Christianity.  I loved this room.

We were able to admire Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel (but were forbidden to take pictures).

I have become quite a fan of Michelangelo, his work the Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica is behind me.  It was the only piece he signed.  Once he signed it, he felt prideful and vowed to never sign his work again!

This is Peter the Apostle's tomb, we were blocked off so we couldn't go down in and see.

Travis with St. Peter's Square behind him

Guards in the Square

 

San Pietro in Vincoli Church

 is a minor basilica in Rome that houses St. Peter's chains and Michelangelo's famous Moses statue.

 

The basilica was first built in the middle of the 5th century to house the relic of the chains that bound Saint Peter while imprisoned in Jerusalem, given to Pope Leo I by Empress Eudoxia (wife of Emperor Valentinian III).

According to legend, when the pope held them next to the chains from of Peter's first imprisonment in the Mamertine Prison in Rome, the two chains miraculously fused together. 

These are the chains that bound Peter while in Prison in Jerusalem and Rome fused together.

 

Travis & the chains!

Michelangelo's famous Moses Statue, he is holding the 10 commandments.

 

San Paolo Fuori Le Mura

aka: Paul Outside the Wall

This church is where Paul the Apostle is buried.  The statue of Paul in front with the sword (because of how he died) and the book representing the Bible.

This church was amazing, it had all the Popes pictures circling the entire church with a light shining on the currant one.

The Metro

This is how we had to get around Rome.  There were lots of smells in this crowd, and a lot of "lookers".  Kristen and I would start laughing and not be able to stop because the Roman stares were so awkward for us!

 

This picture on the Metro always made me laugh!
One day we tried the bus.  It was so crowded, we saw a fight and a Nun get chewed out in Italian.  We decided to stick with the Metro!

 

That night Travis and I took a night walk and got some great shots......

 

St. Peter's Dome



 Meredith admiring St. Peter's Dome over the Tiber River

Castel Sant'Angelo
This Fortress was built as a mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian (AD130-139), but it has also been a prison and a papal residence. It was used by former Popes who absconded there for protection in times of danger. There has been an underground  passageway which still connects Castel Sant'Angelo to the Vatican.

Day 3

This was where we stayed for 2 nights.  It ws such a cute studio on the 3rd floor.  Every morning they had juice and croissants ready for us.

We got reservations to see the Pope.  Sadly because it was raining they moved it from St. Peter's Square into a conference center.  There were people from all walks of life there.

St. Peter's Square Gaurds

Waiting for the Pope in the Conference Center

The Pope Benedict XVI

They read a scripture in about 12 different languages, and then the Pope read a message in Italian.  It was a cool thing to see.

From the Pope to the Rome Temple Sight!  We went to the temple sight and would not let us on the grounds, but we were at least able to get these shots.  Our landlord for the 2 days we were in Rome was Guiseppe.  He was so worried about us finding the sight on bus, that he drove us himself.  We told him he will need to go back when it is the open house:)

What the finished product will look like! Exciting.

After seeing the temple we headed of the board the cruise.

 

Day 4

This was the first stop on our cruise Pisa/ Florence.

We loved Pisa, and wished we had more time to explore.  We had a long drive into Florence so we were only in Pisa for about 30 minutes.  It was really neat to see this tower in person.

This picture really shows the LEAN! It is around a 10 degree lean, supposedly there are other building in Pisa that are leaning and sinking because the ground is too soft.

 

FLORENCE

 The Dumo in Florence

Overlooking all of Florence at the Michelangelo Park.....I loved all the red roof tops.

Walking thru Florence, was exactly what I imagined Italy to look like.  Very beautiful, simple, but packed with tourists.  We had reservations to the Accademia Museum and went in and saw the original David by Michelangelo.  It was much more larger than I ever imagined, and so magestic. Sadly, photo's were forbidden.

The dome inside the Duomo. I loved how the people up top look as if their legs are dangling down.



Kristen and I at Palazzo Vecchio (Giotto's Bell Tower) it was built as a palace, but is now used at Tuscany's Town Hall. You can see a copy of the David in the distance behind us.  The original was there for sometime, but was moved into the museum for protection.

An Italian floating down the Arno River in Florence.

Ponte Vecchio the most famous bridge in Florence. 

Built very close to the Roman crossing, the Old Bridge was until 1218 the only bridge across the Arno in Florence. The current bridge was rebuilt after a flood in 1345. During World War II it was the only bridge across the Arno that the fleeing Germans did not destroy. Instead they blocked access by demolishing the medieval buildings on each side. On November 4, 1966, the bridge miraculously withstood the tremendous weight of water and silt when the Arno once again burst its banks.

 

Day 5

Eze, France, and Monaco

We ported in Cannes, France then got on a bus that took us to this little amazing hilltop Medieval Village named Eze.  It was filled with beautiful stone filled narrow walkways. This town goes back to 970A.D.

 Travis and I at the top of Eze with the French Riviera below.

 This town was amazing, loved all the little walk ways.  No streets were up there.



Travis in Eze

 

The then bus took us to the second smallest country in the world, Monaco.  The first smallest is the Vatican City which we visited too!

Travis & Meredith in Monaco

Travis standing on the Grand Prix Roadway

You can still see the tire marks left over from the race this last May!

 

Travis & Meredith at the Monte Carlo Casino

It was so fun going in there.  It was actually pretty small, but elegant.  The restrooms had a worker there to help you dry your hands, and the toilet seats would rotate after each flush and clean itself. Just watching all the high roller cars pull up in front was entertainment in itself.  There were cars there that cost as much as a house!

At Cannes France with our NCL Cruise Ship behind us.

 

Day 6

Roussillon, Gordes, and Avignon

We ported in Marsille France and had a tour driver named Delphinie.  She was so knowledgable and drove us to a couple small hill top villages in South France.



Roussillon, France

This place seemed unreal, there was even a hot air balloon floating in the distance!

Roussillon France is a reddish town that was so quiant.  I saw little locals walking around with baskets of fresh flowers and baggettes.  No lie!  There were even wild grapes growing on the houses.  It was just unreal.

Travis by a famous painted door in Roussillon.

 

Gordes

This French Village had to of been my favorite!  It was so breathtaking!

Travis & Meredith in Gordes France

Love is in the air at Gordes!

(We had to have a lot of takes trying to get this kissing picture right).

That is my thank you kiss to Travis for taking me to this darling town!

Exploring Gordes, France

Senaque Abbey

This is a monastary right next to Gordes were 6 Monks live.  There the monks pray, work, study and have silence.  When we stopped by they were in a middle of a baptism.  The monks were singing and it echoed beautifully in the church.  It was quite a unique experience. Sadly all the lavender was cut when we went to visit.  Lavender is a big deal in Provence France.

This is how the Senaque Abbey looks in July with all the Lavender!

 

Avignon

Avignon France was our next stop for the day.  

This is the famous Avignon Bridge that is in a child's song.

This is the famous Avignon Bridge that is in a child's song. The Avignon Bridge, also called the St-Bénezet bridge, was built in the 12th century. Wars and Rhone river flood waters did great damage, and the bridge was consistently rebuilt over the centuries, before being abandoned in the 17th century. Today, only 5 of the original 22 arches remain standing. 

Palace of the Popes

Nine Popes lived here for over a 100yrs in the 14th Century.  During some unrest in Rome the Popes were moved here till things got under control.

 

Day 7 

Barcelona, Spain

The cruise ported in Barcelona.  We ran to see a couple famous spots (Montjuic Museum, and La Sagrada Familia Cathedral), before we hit the train to take us out to a monastery up in the mountains.

Travis & I at the Montjuic Museum in Barcelona

My favorite building in Barcelona!  It is so beautiful.  It was fun to go back and reminisce.  They were having n NBA basketball camp that morning.  Supposedly some NBA players were going to be showing up later that day!

 

Montserrat Monastery

We had to ride up in a Gondola 4,000 feet to get to the monastary.  Both Kristen and I had to go to our "happy place" to ignore the hieghts!

At this montastery there are about 80 monks who live here and a boarding school for boys.  Out of the boys is a very famous choir called The Montserrat l'Escolania Boy's Choir. They are world renowned. 

We barely made itintime to here the boys choir sing.  We were so squished in the cathedral, but we managed to get a shot of them and enjoy their music for a song.  Wish we could have heard more!

 

A veiw of the monastery from up top



Travis & Meredith at Monserrat

 People would scale this huge rock to climb to the cross!  And this was a zoomed up picture, that rock was HUGE.  On the way down the gondola workers decided to take a siesta break and we almost missed are train back, to get us back to the cruise ship in time.  We barely made it on the gondola, I think he could tell we were desperate.  Kristen and I were sooooo happy we didn't even care about the heights going down!

We made it back in time to walk down La Rambla and get may favorite.....churros and chocolate! Once we started walking to the cruise boat, it kept taking longer and longer than we thought.  Finally against, Travis & dave's will Kristen and I hailed a taxi.  we got on the boat with only 15 min to spare! 

 

Meredith, Kristen, Dave, and Travis

Eating at the Brazilian Restaurant on the boat.....probably one of my favorite nights for dinner! 

 

Day 7

This day was at sea.  We lounged on the top deck while the guys played basketball.  My goal was to eat at least 4 meals that day.....I wanted to try and taste everything!  It was a relaxing day! 

 

Day 8

One of my favorite days!

We ported in Naples and had a private driver take us down to the Amalfi Coast and to Pompeii.  We headed out of Naples, which was VERY dirty with trash everywhere.  We started down the coast.....

First stop was Sorrento, Italy

Shopping streets in Sorrento were so cute.

Kristen and I were so excited for our souvenir from Italy!

 

Next stop was my most favorite town: Positano, Italy

The veiw was unreal!!!

Positano, Italy

Travis in Positano 

We walked down to touch the Mediterranean Sea, it was warm!

On the Beach in Positano!

 

Next our driver took us to a resturant up in the hills of Positano.  This was the view, it was amazing!

 

La Tagliata Restaurant

 

This restaurant was a real Italian experience. Everything was grown on the property and handmade. There were no menu's, they just brought lots of food to pass around!

 

Pompeii

Romans took control of Pompeii around 200 BC. On August 24, 79 AD, Vesuvius erupted, burying the nearby town of Pompeii in ash and soot, killing 20,000 people, and preserving the city in its state from that fateful day. Pompeii is an excavation site and outdoor museum of the ancient Roman settlement. This site is considered to be one of the few sites where an ancient city has been preserved in detail - everything from jars and tables to paintings and people was frozen in time, yielding, together an unprecedented opportunity to see how the people lived two thousand years ago.



Travis & Meredith in Pompeii Forum

This was the center of public life, although it is now to the southwest of the excavated area. It was surrounded by many of the important governmment, religious and business buildings.

 



The Artifacts, and people......I couldn't believe how well preseved all this pottery was.  Seeing the people how they died that day was a bit somber.

The streets

 There are tracks for the carriages in the street for a smoother ride. There are also stone blocks in the street for pedestrians to step onto to cross the street. The sidewalks are higher than the modern sidewalk because the streets had water and waste flowing through them. The stone blocks in the street were also as high as the sidewalk, so people did not walk in the waste and water. The stone blocks were also used for what we now call speed bumps. When the carriages were going through the city, they were going fast. To avoid people from getting splashed by the water and waste they had stone blocks in the street. This would make the driver slow down when they were speeding, so they could get through the blocks.



 Mt. Vesuvius in the back round of Pompeii



The Bakeries 

The bakeries’ ovens look similar to the old brick stone oven. The House of the Baker has a garden area with millstones of lava used for grinding the wheat. 

Theatre

Theatre built in the hollow of a hill for acoustic advantage; it seated 5,000

Travis & Meredith in the Basilica



This is where they would train their Gladiators! Cool! 

The next day we flew home and it was a LONG day! Took 26 hours to get home, but when we did we crashed.  We are still getting over jet lag, but I must say this trip was worth every penny, and every lost minute of sleep.  This was really a trip of a lifetime!  Thank you Deckers for coming, we couldn't have asked for better company!!

This is what we found at home waiting for us! Cute.