Italy!

The land of art and culture, pasta and pizza, gladiators and gondoliers.
The land of leaning towers, archaeological ruins, and scenic coastlines.
The land of fashion and faith; grapes, lemons, and olives. 

After dreaming for more than ten years and then being denied the chance to visit for more than two and a half years, my wife and I returned from our two-week journey through Italy.

For some years, we saved money while searching for the tour right package. With so many tour options available, we looked for the one that offered the most of our must-have experiences at the best value. After an intense search, we selected the BEST OF ITALY from Trafalgar to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We decided November 2019 would be the time to go since it was the off-season, and the price was better. However, Trafalgar canceled when not enough people signed up for it. Bummer! But thankfully, we could reschedule for any time without worry. We decided March 2020 would be a great time to go because it was still the off-season, and the spring weather would be ideal. Yet again, our tour was canceled when the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed its ugly head on the world. The world shut down, people were forced to stay home, and traveling anywhere was forbidden. We rescheduled for March 2021, thinking everything would be back normal by then and we would not have to be concerned with any COVID-19 travel restrictions. Sadly, the pandemic was still in full effect and Italy had not opened its borders to foreign travelers. We waited a few months before deciding to reschedule our trip for March 2022. As the pandemic still had its hold on the world, we didn’t know if we would be denied once again. But thankfully, travel restrictions were lifted, Italy opened its borders and enough people had signed up for the tour. So finally, the wait was over and our vacation of a lifetime would soon become a reality.

It is hard to describe the two weeks we spent in Italy with adequate words. Each city offered a unique opportunity to learn something new. Bucket-list experiences or I like to say “God manifested dreams” were checked off the list. Visualizing places that had previously only been seen through a television lens. One post on the blog would not be sufficient to talk about everything we want to share. We will address the individual experiences and other topics in more specific posts. I will share the daily itinerary for this post, with the details to follow in the forthcoming posts.

JT at the Leaning Tower of Pisa Photo by J

Andiamo (Let’s Go!)
We leave home and our journey to Rome begins.

Day One
We arrive in Rome and check-in at our hotel. After meeting our travel director and our fellow travelers, we head out for a bus tour of Rome, followed by dinner at a local restaurant.

Day Two
We tour the Vatican museums, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Colosseum, and conclude with a walking tour around Rome with stops at the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon.

Day Three
We leave Rome to visit the Pompeii ruins and a drive along the Amalfi Coast.

Day Four
We arrive by ferry to the Island of Capri for a walking tour. We head back to Sorrento for free time in town, concluding with a dinner at a local farmhouse.

Day Five
Our journey continues to Assisi to view the Basilica of St. Francis and free time in the peaceful town.

Day Six
We arrive in Venice and view the islands by private water taxi, and experience a gondola ride through the canals.

Day Seven
We take a walking tour of Venice and go inside St. Mark’s Basilica, followed by a glass-blowing demonstration on the island of Murano, and stroll around the island of Burano, followed by dinner.

Day Eight
We leave Venice and have a free morning in Verona, a walking tour of Milan with a tour of the Duomo in the afternoon, and arriving in Como for the evening.

Day Nine
The day begins with a bus tour of Lake Como, then a boat ride to Bellagio and free time back in Como.

Day Ten
After leaving Como, we see the Leaning Tour of Pisa before heading to Florence with dinner at Villa Machiavelli.

Day Eleven
The day begins with a chance to see David at the Academia Gallery and continues with a walking tour around Florence to see the Duomo, gold and leather demonstrations, free time for shopping, walking over the Ponte Vecchi,o and concluding with dinner at Castello del Trebbio.

Day Twelve
After leaving Florence, we stop at a World War II cemetery before heading to the medieval town of San Gimignano and then returning to Rome for our farewell dinner.

Day Thirteen
Returning back Home

Stay tuned for more details about each day, the individual experience, and other things we learned about traveling aboard during the time of COVID.