Rome and the Vatican

The 3-week trip was wrapping up. All that was left was a train ride down to Rome where we'd have about ten hours to sightsee, then sleep and hop on a plane back to the U. S. of A. We packed a lot into our ten hours in the Eternal City. We first went by Metro to the Vatican (Country 9) and saw the Vatican Museum with the Sistine Chapel along with St. Peter's Basilica. Then we went to the Colosseum area, followed by the Pantheon. It was amazing to see these historic sites! As evening approached we took a walking tour of Rome, guided by Rick Steves in our, by now beaten up, travel book. We saw the beautiful Trevi Fountain just in time for the lights to come on. Dinner was one of our best of the whole trip, at a restaurant called the Sacred and the Profane. Their antipasti plate was alone worth coming back to Rome for! Then it was one last round of gelato, a peek at the Spanish Steps, and a collapse into bed. After 19 or so hours of travel the next day, we were back home in Washington, loaded with memories of a spectacular trip!

The Cinque Terre

After arriving back in Venice at the end of the cruise, we took a train to the west coast of Italy to the Cinque Terre. This spot is a little bit off the beaten path and has incredible scenery. It includes five towns perched on the edge of the Mediterranean and we stayed two nights in one of the towns, Vernazza, home to about 500 locals. During our stay we enjoyed great Italian meals. We loaded up on pesto, which originated from this region. On one of our days we also hiked to the other four towns and Scott swam in the sea. It's a beautiful area and we'd love to visit again!

The Cruise

Venice was the departure point for our 7-night Eastern Mediterranean Cruise with Royal Caribbean. We loved being able to unpack and sleep in the same space each night, leaving the driving to someone else. The cruise was a good way to recharge our travel batteries. We also really loved the ports. We went to Dubrovnik, Croatia, then Kusadasi/Ephesus, Turkey, then Santorini and Corfu, Greece. On the ship we played a lot of putt-putt golf, rock-climbed, swam, ate great food, and enjoyed socializing with our table partners in the dining hall each night.

Venice

We took a night-train from Munich to country number 5, Italy, and more specifically, Venice. We had a great time exploring Venice by foot and by water bus. We even got to splurge on a gondola ride thanks to Jen's grandparents, Spence and Mary Moll. It's an amazing and photogenic city with maze-like streets. Fortunately, since it's an island, it's hard to get too lost there. If your feet are getting wet, turn around. One other major development: Venice marked the beginning of our grand gelato binge. From this point on, a day without at least one round of gelato was blasphemy.

Deutschland and Reutte, Austria

After France, was a train trip east to Bavaria, Germany. Our main travels in Germany followed the general route of the Romantic Road, a medieval road leading from Wurzburg in the north, into the Alps, and ending up at Fussen, a city with two famous castles. In Wurzburg, we visited Scott's family friend, Vivian Becker. She really made us feel welcome and made sure we had a great experience in her city. Then we rented a car and drove along the autobahn (!) to Rothenberg, (another medieval site) a beautifully preserved, walled city where most buildings were several hundred years old. Last was Fussen and the fairy-tale castles there. To pick up country number four, we did also drive across the border to the Austrian vacation town of Reutte. And before leaving Germany, we dropped the car off in Munich and enjoyed a colorful respite in a shady, packed, and massive beer garden.

Country Deux- France

Next we traveled by train to France. Our two main stops here were Paris and a spot in the countryside southwest of Paris, near the Atlantic coast, where we visited Jen's family friends, Rachel and Pierre Stupple. We had a great time with them! They showed us exotic donkeys, the joys of multi-course dining and why living in the French countryside is a temptation that's hard to resist. In Paris, highlights were the famous sights and a Seine River cruise, exploring the city on the Metro subway system, picnicing, and the best falafel sandwiches this side of Israel.