Italy with April! Aug 2012

On top of the Spanish Steps, with April!

Bottom of the Spanish Steps

Denton at the Colosseum, Rome 

The Vatican Museum, Rome

April, taking a dip in a fountain near the Borghese Museum.
It was HOT outside, but the water was freezing!

Cinque Terre

view from our terrace

Narrow walkways and alleys... Pedestrians only!

Marisa posing in front of the village we stayed in, Monterosso

Compulsory pose with the Tower

Bridges of Florence

Florence

Florence

Triple Scoop of Gelato!!

Duomo at Night, Florence

Rialto Bridge, Venice 

Venice!

Marisa on the vaporetto- 

Well it's been a while since we updated the blog... We were in Italy in August, already!! So... Where Were We??

April is one of Marisa's friends from the Sacramento State Women's Crew team, back in 2003. We met April in Rome, where we rented an apartment through AirBnb, near Termini Station. Though, it was much more bare when we rented it, versus the recent pictures on AirBnb. We prepared many Italian meals at the house or at our hostels. Denton and April saw many Roman sights together; the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, St. Peters, and the Vatican Museum. Since it was the middle of August, and Marisa visited Italy in 2008, she stayed in the air conditioned apartment and updated this blog :) We spent most evenings exploring the streets of Rome, with our noses to our helpful and lovable, Rick Steve's Tour Book. After three days in Rome, we made our way to the Cinque Terre. We spent another three days, swimming in the ocean, relaxing by the beach, and hiking the famous walk between the five mountain towns. The Cinque Terre was a nice change from the bustle, heat, and museums of Rome. We stayed at a great little hostel, that Marisa had stayed at in 2008, Mar Mar Hotel/Hostel. We stayed in the Hostel part, which was a large apartment with ~10 beds in it. It was charming and had an attached outdoor patio. From Cinque Terre we made our way to Florence, with a stop over in Pisa. Again, we rented an apartment through AirBnb and stayed in the center of the city. We explored the quaint streets and restaurants, drank wine on the steps of the Duomo, and soaked in the cultural sites of the city; like Michelangelo's The David. Finally, we ventured up to Venice for just one night. We walked the canals, listened to music in St. Marco's Square, and window shopped. On the last day, we parted ways with April, she made her way back to Rome for another two days, and we made our way to Prague.

Marisa was so worn out from traveling Italy at such a quick pace, that she got a bad cold and was sick for 10 DAYS! So we holed up in a hotel in Prague, on the outskirts of the city and just recovered. We walked to a nearby mall and bought some running shoes because we were starting our days of hard labor... To Be Continued...