Memory Monday.....

Today's Monday Memory Meme is about a vacation memory.  Those of you who have been blogging friends for a long time, will remember our trip to Italy, back in 2007.  I did a three-part blog, back then, because we had so many photos (over 600).  I made a DVD collage of our trip and it takes 90 minutes to see... a full-length feature film!! LOL

I have talked about family vacations when I was growing up, so I won't write about those again.  Joe and I never had a honeymoon, and vacations have mostly been days off to visit family.  Joe has been self-employed our entire marriage, and it is really hard to schedule time away. When you don't work, you don't get paid.

I have chosen 63 photos, from our trip to Italy, to share, and won't go into a lot of narrative with them, because I don't remember all the names of the cathedrals, and places we visited, without viewing my well-documented DVD, or pulling out the daily diary I kept of the trip.

Our vacation to Italy was our trip of a life-time.  We took out a second mortgage to go on the trip, and can never afford another trip to Europe, unless we win the lottery!  It was a great time for us.  My only regret is that I didn't have a good camera.  My little point-and-shoot took terrible pictures inside large spaces, and especially with the flash turned off. Most places wouldn't allow flash.  So I have a whole bunch of inside photos that are blurry as can be, or so dark you can't see anything.

We traveled with Go Ahead Tours, and I highly recommend them. It was an amazing experience. Our group of 30 travelers was diverse and lots of fun. There really wasn't a bad person in the bunch. No one caused problems. We were all just wide-eyed tourists, blessed to be traveling through Venice, Florence, Tuscany, and Rome (in that order).

 You can see me in the reflection, taking the photo.

 Joe and I had gelato every day. This was our first!

 Taken from the bell-tower at St. Marks Cathedral.

 Joe and I went to Mass in this cathedral. It was an amazing experience!

 Now, we are in Florence.

 Motorcycles and bikes are everywhere (and Smart Cars!).

We had a wonderful experience at a wine tasting, in Tuscany.

We had a case of wine and some olive oil shipped home.

An ancient well in the 'town center' at San Gimignano, was built in 1273. Those are rope marks in the stone, from pulling up buckets of water.

 They really do have pizza in Italy!

 We bought goodies out and about, and had a little feast in our room one day.

Our hotel, in Florence, with Joe in the courtyard.

 Michelangelo's David.  Terrible photo. So disappointed.

 From the roof top patio on our hotel in Florence.

 A view of Florence from above, at the restaurant our group went to.

 That's me, all the way at the end, on the left.

 Now we are in Rome and this is the view from our hotel room.

 It rained for two of our three days, in Rome. So disappointed.

 

 Fr. Victor is in the center of this photo.  He was assigned to our church, in Lakeland, during the summer months while he was studying in Rome. We just love him, and he told us to call when we got to Rome.  We got a tour of the Irish College, where he was studying, had a meal in their cafeteria, and he took us on a walking tour of several other churches in the area. It was wonderful!  He is now assigned back in Nigeria, as a Pastor.

 The Pantheon ceiling (above).  It is an amazing structure.

 Ruins and feral cats (they were in all the ruins!).

 Trevi Fountain.  

 Yes, we tossed in coins, over our shoulders!

 It was SO crowded.

 The Vatican Museum. Wow. Took three hours to tour, including the Sistine Chapel.

The Pope's balcony.

 At the Vatican. 

A little restaurant, off the beaten path. Wine and a snack kept us going!

 We spent our last full day in Rome, visiting with Joe's cousin!!  They had never met, and he and his wife don't speak English.  We spent over five hours with them, and it was a great time.

He took us on a little tour of their city (north of Rome) and this beach is quite the attraction. The "sand" is magnetic (from a volcano) and is therapeutic to people with arthritis.  He showed us how the sand sticks to metal!

 Lidia and Guiseppe are short, and made Joe sit for a picture, and asked me to stand on a lower step!  It was very funny to us, but we complied with no complaint!

 Our tour leaders and their son, above, and our tour group, below, before leaving for the airport.

 We flew out through Atlanta, and home through New York City.  Quite an experience!!

Whew!!  Bless you if you made it this far! Thanks for stopping in.  Peace & blessings.