Don Felipe's Travels: Italy: Land of Pizza, Pasta, and Panini

We arrived in Rome at 1130 PM Saturday night. The airport we flew into was a big out of the way so we had to take a cab to our hostel. Turns out Lady Gaga was having a concert a few blocks from our hostel in support of Gay Pride. So after checking into the hostel we went out for some pizza, and though the pizza was delicious, the people we saw in the restaurant and walking around outside were a bit extraneous.

The next morning we got up early and headed to the Vatican. We were able to hear the Sunday mass on the big screens outside in St. Peter’s Square. Also in the square was a huge display of Ferraris. There were probably 30-40 Ferraris of all different colors, models, and ages; it was incredible. After checking the Ferraris out and taking pictures we got in line to enter St. Peter’s Basilica. We ended up waiting for about 2 hours while Italians kept cutting the line. Some Americans behind us got really angry and started blocking off the entrance and calling out anybody that tried to cut. Once we got through security we headed right to the Cupola, which is the top of the basilica. We a 360 degrees view of Rome and also great views of St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican Museum, and the gardens. The kicker was that it was 540 steps to the top and needless to say we were sweating by the time we got up there. After the Cupola we went into the main basilica. The church is huge! The ceiling must have been 70 ft high and there were great pieces of artwork and sculptures all over the place. We were also able to go under the main floor and see some of the shrines of where previous popes were buried, including St. Peter.

After the whole Vatican tour we made our way to the Pantheon. We made a quick stop at Piazza Navona to check out the fountain and some of the artwork. The Pantheon was a bit more hyped up than it should be. Granted it is a architectural feat but the inside is very empty. We were lucky enough to have a children’s band playing some good classical music.

After the Pantheon we headed towards the Coliseum. It was getting late so we just wanted to check it out from the outside but we were very surprised to find this really cool building called Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II. It was a big, bright white building with some cool bronze sculptures. We also got some great deals on some fake Ray bans. The Coliseum was cool but we stayed outside and saved the inside for the next day.

We had some crackers and cheese for dinner and then headed over to Trevi Fountain. It is both a tourist and local hotspot so we relaxed there with a couple beers.

The next day was the Coliseum and all the old Roman ruins. We did a lot of reading while in the Coliseum just so we could understand some of the history behind its construction. It turns out there is a lot more history to the Coliseum than just the building itself. It was really cool to understand all the politics that went into building something like the Coliseum during that time.

The Coliseum brought us close to some good restaurants so after a great meal of a typical contemporary Roman spaghetti and sauce we headed out to see more of the sights. I’m not completely sure of the name of the place where we went to see the old Roman ruins, but its something along the lines of the Forum and the Palatino. We were able to see many of the things we read about in the Coliseum and also learn about some of the pre-Roman empire history.

After staying in the south of Rome all day we took the metro up to the Spanish Steps. This is another tourist trap but it was pretty cool to see everyone lounging around.

The next morning we were up and checked out early in order to catch a bus back to the airport to pick up our rental car. We finally got on the road by 12:30 and were instantly turned around. Italian highways do not have very good signage, but finally we were headed in the right direction. We decided to make a quick stop in Pisa. What we expected to be a quick in and out turned into an extra hour and a half to our travel time. But the visit of the Leaning Tower was just a quick 15 minute ordeal and then we were back on the road.

Our destination was an area of Italy called Cinque Terre. It’s a set of 5 small towns right on the coast. After an hour of driving along the windy roads of the mountains we arrived in Monterosso al mare, the largest of the five towns. We parked the car and headed out to explore the town and check out the views of the Mediterranean. We picked up some limoncello and wine from a local business who gave us a great recommendation for dinner that night. I was able to enjoy this delicious seafood spaghetti -- everything was fresh. After dinner we headed to the beach and relaxed there for the night. Finally it was time to hit the sack and since we hadn’t booked any place to stay we crashed in the car.

Our breakfast was a quick stop at a local bakery then we were on the road by 8 am . On our way up the mountains we had to stop and take pictures because we were getting some great views of the coast.

After a long drive we finally made it to Venice. The thing about Venice is the only way to get around in downtown Venice is walking or boats. So we actually dropped off the car in a town called Mestre, which is on the main land of Italy, while Venice is on its own island. Our hostel was in Mestre and was a 10 minute walk from the car drop-off. Check in wasn’t until 2 PM and all we wanted to do was shower and nap. So to pass the time we went to eat, obviously. We got a great recommendation for a local pizzeria, and I had an excellent pizza with fresh tomatoes and basil.

After lunch we checked in and napped for a couple hours. We were up by 4 PM and headed to Venice. Our two options were train or bus, we chose train, expecting it to be easier. When we finally boarded the train(with our tickets) the conductor came to us and we handed him our tickets. He then starts to go on about how you have to validate your ticket and blah blah blah. Then he says we have to buy new tickets and he's going to charge us 6 euros. We said there is no way we are buying new tickets, no one told us about validating. Eventually he gave up and gave us back our tickets. Turns out there are little yellow boxes with no indication where you are supposed to swipe your ticket. We didn’t make the same mistake for the return trip.

Well we had made it to Venice so we started cruising through the streets checking out the canals and gondolas. Gondolas are insanely expensive like 70-120 euros for 30 minutes; so better keep some spare change in that wallet if you ever go to Venice. We had a couple things to see like the Ponte Di Rialto, the famous Venetian bridge, and St. Marc’s Square. We ate our dinner (pizza again) on some steps right on the edge of a canal. We spent the night walking around Venice usually lost because the streets are so small and you never really know where you are or where you are heading. Turns out there was a lunar eclipse that night so we were able to see that without any overcast skies. My pictures weren’t too good so I haven’t posted them. We finally found a good spot on pier to enjoy the rest of our limoncello and some cigars. It was definitely a great way to end our Italy trip.

The next day we packed up, checked out, grabbed a quick lunch from a grocery store, and got to the airport to head back to Valencia. Overall one of the best trips I have ever been on. There is no doubt in my mind that I will return to Italy, at the very minimum just to eat.