Gallivants I Failed to Blog About (Italy 2022 with Amelia & Star Valley friends)

 Italy 2022 Spring Break

Notice the big gap?  COVID happened and travel shut down.  We went to only one country, because there were still many COVID protocols in place, and we did not want students to get stuck in a country and not move if they had to test in between countries.  Thus, we really got to know Italy in 10 days, and it was fabulous!  The best part was going with Amelia and her friends.  

We went with such a great group.  I loved going with Amelia and so many of her friends.  Masking was still required in airports and on the plane, but much of the trip we could do without.  Everyone stayed healthy, and we all tested negative before coming back to the states, so we did alright.  :-)

Milan

At the famous duomo (church) of Milan. 

Lake Como

I admired the kids who took a swim.  It was cold!  

Sirmione and Lake Garda 

While the kids all swam by the fort, I and one couple (the Skye's) went on a walk to find the Roman baths.  They did not disappoint.  Overlooking Lake Garda, there were spectacular views, and these photos don't do justice to what is really left of these baths.  It was something to see!

Murano and Venice

At the glass blowing factory that is centuries old.  Most purchased something here.  My second time here, this is truly a highlight. 

At St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice

Along the Grand Canal

At the old hospital in Venice.  This is apparently very cool inside, but because of COVID we could not enter even the lobby.  

My colleagues crack me up.  They were stylin'

Bologna

The oldest university in Europe is here, and this is part of it.  

Beautiful medieval cathedral

Cinque Terre

The Five Earths is what Cinque Terre translates to, and there are five small cities on this coast, which have only in recent years been touristed much, because of a train that goes between them. The kids loved this day and walking along here and swimming and eating gelato. 

The next morning we left for Florence and stopped in Pisa.  What a beautiful spot.  I needed more time here. 

We saw the mountains where the Carrara marble comes from, which Michelangelo and now thousands of others have used for beautiful sculptures. 

San Gimignano

We loved this medieval city, exploring its little streets, fortressed areas, and the center square, where many were once tried by ordeal and tortured.  We found the best gelato of the trip here also.

Tuscany

Florence (Firenze)

This was the favorite city of the trip for me personally.  

This is the birthplace of the European Renaissance.

Amelia and I enjoyed a fancy lunch together, having the famous Florentine steak (not pictured) and other deliciousness, like rabbit. 

Botticelli's "Birth of Vensus" at the Uffizi Musem, where we spent an afternoon

Caravaggio's"Medusa"

The Duomo in Firenze, which was the first dome created in Italy in over a thousand years by Brunelleschi.

My colleague, Paul K, who stayed lively because of a daily dosage of energy drinks.  

Rome

Again, the energy drinks, and one of the iconic photos of this trip. 

Vatican Museum

The famous Swiss Guards of the Vatican

St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. No church can be larger than this, in Catholocism.

They were preparing for the Pope to speak at Easter the very next day and bringing out thousands of beautiful flowers. 

The Roman Forum

In the Colosseum

Trevi Fountain, where you make a wish about who you would like to return to Rome with someday and through a coin back across your shoulder. 

The Pantheon

The Rome LDS Temple (we made a short visit out there on the way into Rome)

These are out of order, but we stopped outside of Florence to the American cemetery for WWII dead on the way out of Florence.  It was striking and peaceful.