Italy - Rome, Cinque Terre, Pisa and Venice!

I'm not sure where to start with this blog, we had such an epic holiday with Anna & Borrie and did so much I can't write about all of it! I will try to include the best bits and put some photos on that haven't made the facebook cut.

Praying in St Peters Basilica

Our holiday started in Rome - one of the ancient civilisations of the world. That alone is enough to get Nath excited.  We had 3 action packed days where we did a tour of the Colosseum & Palatine Hill and the Vatican City.  We also saw the Pantheon, Spanish Steps and Trevi fountain.  We took a trip out to the catacombes of San Callisto, I was disappointed that we didn't see any bones but I think Anna was relieved.  The best part about Rome was the free water fountains dotted all around city.  Luckily our tour guide of Palatine Hill told us the water was OK to drink or else we probably would have avoided it and spent loads of cash buying water. 

Riomaggiore at night

Walking action shot

Synchronised swimming in the Med

My favourite part of our holiday was the time we spent in Cinque Terre.  The scenery was beautiful and it was nice to be swimming in the ocean and drinking locally made wines.  In the mornings we would get up and walk between the colourful fishing villages.  In the afternoons we would swim and enjoy the sunshine.  In the evenings we would eat delicious Italian food and drink good wine.  One time we bought salami, cheeses, olives and bread from a deli and ate on the rocks of the jetty as the sun set.  Bello.  I didn't want to leave the Cinque Terre but I am hopeful I will return there one day.

Our last stop on our tour of Italy was Venice. We took the train from Cinque Terre and stopped off at Pisa for a few cheeky photos with the leaning tower before continuing on our way.





 It was deja vu being back in Venice and it was cool to be there.  We managed to squeeze in a lot more than our previous trip visiting Doge's palace, St Marks Basilica, and we went up the Bell Tower that gave us panoramic views over Venice.  We had fun walking around the canals, never knowing if we were going to reach a dead end and have to back track.  It was an interesting experience flying out of Venice - we arrived at the airport in a boat!! As we took off it was amazing looking out the windows to see all the water ways and the little islands created by the canals. 

 

 As I write this blog I have just finished end of year reports and have 20 school days left before summer break.  Cannot wait for 7 weeks of sleep ins!