Pompeii, Rome and Tuscany

So I have to warn you all, this will be a very long post. But, I hope that it will be entertaining!

After I got into Naples last Wednesday, I went to Pompeii and was amazed by the city. It was so much larger and spectacular than I thought it would be. Many of the frescoes were in such great condition (due to the fact that most everything was covered by the debris from the Vesuvius explosion). I was in awe and it was just amazing walking along the roads imagining what it must have been like to live here thousands of years ago.

This was one of the main streets. They were very rocky!

It was a bit creepy to see the plaster casts of the people that had died in the explosion, but it was still very cool. I have been looking forward to seeing Pompeii and this stuff for so so long!

Here I am in the forum part of Pompeii where people would have just walked around and chatted with each other. Mt Vesuvius is in the background. Imagine that before it exploded it was twice its current size.

On my first day in Rome I walked around in the Villa Borghese and loved it. I always try to go to the main parks of all the cities I go to and people watch. :) It was quite beautiful, I took a break and ate a gelato, which was very delicious btw, and looked out at the boulevard. The fountain you see in the background was kinda like a big pool and people were swimming in it. 

The view from the park was amazing. You can see St. Peters Basilica in the background. My first day in Rome I wandered around in general and got lost about 10 times. At the end of the day I got lost again and found myself in the Trastvere at a small art gallery eating beef carpaccio on arugula with the yummiest vinegar sauce sans tourists. It was an amazing experience and something you expect and hope will happen when you travel.


On my second day in Rome I went to the Colosseum and it was so cool! It was quite large although I actually thought it would be larger. Its amazing that the Romans built this so long ago and it is still here today. The original geography of the Colosseum included a lake. When I was hanging out the day before at the Colosseum I talked with an older Italian man who told me about some things I should do in Italy and said I looked Argentinian; that was cool.

Inside the Colosseum you could imagine seeing a gladiator fight. They used to bring in exotic animals and even stage some of the fights. They also had faux naval battles in the arena. It must have been quite a hassle to stage that.

Next on my itinerary was the Vatican! This is a picture of one of the galleries where there are many busts and statues all over the place. The arrangement of the artwork is actually protected by UNESCO. In the 1800s aristocrats from around the world would come to the Vatican and see the galleries arranged in this way.

The Vatican was very crowded and I had a strong urge to shout "mooooo," but somehow I resisted.....

Being inside St Peter's Basilica was amazing, it was so so big. (Yes, that is what she said)

The dome was magnificent and I felt like an ant. It was so incredible to be inside the largest church in the world. It was strange though that it did not have seats. This is because they do not have normal masses for the public although my guide mentioned that they do perform weddings.

Outside the Vatican and the Basilica was amazing! I felt like the Pope should have come out or there should have been thousands of people standing around. We looked up at the balcony and wondered if Scotty from EuroTrip would come out as the new pope....

The next day I went to the Roman Forum! It was so so so cool! Walking around where Julius Ceaser walked and where so much history and development of democracy and government occurred was amazing.

 

There were many ruins... the family that actually took this photo were from South (or was it North) Carolina and there son was interested in Deloitte Consulting so maybe I will help him with recruiting! Small world!

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The sites were amazing.

The Pantheon was pretty cool!

Inside there was a large hole in the middle of the dome and I do not know what it is for...

(I wrote some or your postcards here!)

A view of the Spanish Steps from the street leading up to it. I stopped at a Tea Room from 1893 the day before and had cream tea. I was pretty ecstatic. Keats and Byron used to write their poetry in this area so maybe that's why an English tea room was there.

On my last day in Rome I took a day trip to into Tuscany and Umbria and I have to say that it will be one of the foremost highlights from this trip. It felt so beyond surreal to be there and it was just so picture perfect. I was so happy and amazed to be there. 

One of the many small streets in Cortona where "Under the Tuscan Sun" was filmed. I was in awe.

After Cortona we went to lunch and had some of the most amazing bruschetta. I bought an herb mix that I will make when I get home so you all can try it :)

After lunch we headed to Montepulciano and it was so beautiful as well. We went into the oldest cellar there (it was over 2000 years old) and tried some very good sangiovese wine.

I went into a church there and lit a candle. It was one of those churches where you get that feeling of being somewhere sacred.

On one of my last nights I made yet another wish in the Trevi Fountain. Hopefully it will come true (I wished for it four times!) and I will go back to Rome sometime soon again.