Italia

We're back!
Rome and Naples were amazing. I actually woke up this morning craving buffalo mozzarella. I guess that craving will have to wait until I make it back to Grandma's house.

Rome was a jam packed escapade. (May 6-9)

Day 1 - We arrived in Rome and got settled in our sweet little B&B. It was in a great area of Rome. It was right next to a Metro stop and lots of delicious restaurants. My Aunt Grazia and Uncle Philip are friends with the owners, so we instantly felt comfortable. We spent the rest of the day exploring the area and enjoyed a nice dinner before we all crashed from the long trip.

On the plane!

Our first meal in Rome (me, Steve, Mom, Josh, Makenzie, Baby aka Robby)

Day 2 - We started early and headed down to The Vatican. The line to get in was forever long, so we decided to book a tour for the next day and continue on to the other Roman sites. We started at Castle San Angelo, enjoyed a gelato at Piazza Navona, had our first pizza in Italy! for lunch, went inside the Pantheon, threw money in the Trevi fountain, and relaxed on the Spanish Steps. Grandma recommended a fantastic restaurant by the Spanish Steps where we enjoyed a nice long dinner and a hilarious waiter.

Castle San Angelo

The Vatican from Castle San Angelo

I can still taste these pizzas - YUM!

Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps

Day 3 - Whew... busy day! We started with St. Peter's Basilica, the Sacred Grottos (the Pope's tombs), The Vatican Museums, and finally the Sistine Chapel. Then, we found a quick spot for lunch. Our next stop was the Colosseum! We walked around the Colosseum in amazement then walked across the street to the Roman Forum. From there you could see the Circus Maximus, which just looked like a park... crazy. We were officially wiped out! I realized all the bottles of water we had been drinking finally hit me and I had to go (this will lead to a story I promise). I tried to use my ticket to get back into the Colosseum, but they wouldn't let me back in. My mom said she saw a potty just on the other side of the Colosseum, so we quickly walked over... it was being cleaned! I really had to go... I knew the Metro would have one so we briskly walked and found a pay potty. We hurriedly scrambled through our wallets for a 50 cent Euro. As we made our way out of the Metro I asked mom for a hand wipe (moms are awesome!). We got on the metro and were headed for the main station where we would be able to buy our tickets to Naples for the next day. Mom opened her purse to find her wallet gone! We were in shock. Everything was in there, her passport, DL, money, credit cards... I felt bad. Someone had to have taken it about the time she was helping me get change for the potty or a wipe. After a trip to the Polizia station and a trip back to the Colosseum metro lost and found, we tried to relax and enjoy a nice dinner.

Outside St. Peter's Basilica

Inside St. Peter's Basilica (Granny - you can tell your Priest they had padded seats:)

Being Gladiators in the Colosseum

Roman Forum

Day 4 - We checked out of our B&B and hit the roads. Josh and Makenzie went to the Zoo. Mom & Steve went to check on the status of her wallet (we all had our fingers crossed). Robby and I went to Villa Torlonia. This was Mussolini's house during WWII. I had a stand off with the Italian ticket lady... SO RUDE, but overall we saw what we went to see and had a great time.

Villa Torlonia

We grabbed a bite and hopped on the train for Grandma's! Grandma had a delicious eggplant pasta dish waiting for us when we got in.

Robby and Grandma

Naples

I loved being with Grandma. It has been so long since we have actually spent some good time with each other. She is one of the funniest people I have ever met:) We were also able to spend some time catching up with Zio Enrico & even Filipo. Filipo is my mom's cousin. I told Robby he is the tallest person I have ever met. Robby warned me it had been a long time since I last saw him, so he might not be as tall as I remembered... he was right. Haha, he is still really tall, but not as tall as I once thought:) LuLu, Dani, and Karen flew in from Milan to see us for for a few nights. It was a lot of traveling for them, but we were SO happy to see them. Karen is a little beauty.

With Karen - She has all of her friends sign her shoes and asked us:)

Mt. Vesuvius from Grandma's

Mass at the Church where I was Baptized

We spent our time exploring Capri, Pompeii, taking a Naples Underground tour, going to a leather factory (where Grandma bought me a beautiful Birthday purse), going to Mass in the Church where I was Baptized, and visiting the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Mom pointed out a lot of significant places such as where where she went to school, where my Grandma & Grandpa met, and where they were married.

Me and Ma soaking up the Capri sunshine

Capri

Pompeii

More Pompeii

Naples Underground Tour

Some of the crew enjoying lunch at Grandma's (Me, Steve, Zio Enrico, LuLu, Karen, and Makenzie

We got home last night and LOVED on our sweet little pups!

We hope all moms had a wonderful Mom's Day last Sunday!!
Also, thanks for the B-day wishes. I had a FANTASTIC day:)

Me and Joshy celebrating our B-days

Oh, and Mom never found her wallet :(